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HAND-BOOK 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 

FOR 

HOUSEHOLDERS, 


CONTAINING 

FACTS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  ABOUT  VENTILATION, 
DRAINAGE,  CARE  OF  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES, 
DISINFECTION,  FOOD,  AND  WATER. 


WITH  APPENDICES  ON 


DISINFECTANTS  AND  PLUMBERS’  MATERIALS. 


NEW  YORK: 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 

I,  3,  AND  5 BOND  STREET. 

1884, 


EOGER 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

S.  TEACT,  M.  D. 

1884. 


PREFACE. 


The  preparation  of  this  hand-book  was  suggested 
by  persistent  questioning  about  the  matters  it  con- 
tains. Its  purpose  is  to  furnish  householders  with 
information  which  has  been  so  scattered,  or  buried 
so  deep  in  technical  discussions,  that  it  has  not  been 
easy  for  them  to  find  it  for  themselves.  It  is,  of 
course,  mainly  a compilation,  and  the  only  difficul- 
ties met  with  have  been  those  incident  to  the  ar- 
rangement and  condensation  of  a large  mass  of 
material.  I have  intended  to  give  credit,  where 
credit  seemed  to  be  due,  for  everything  borrowed, 
and,  if  I have  failed  to  do  so  in  any  case,  it  is  not 
my  fault,  but  my  misfortune. 

R.  S.  T. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — Air 7-21 


Normal  Air. — Contamination  of  the  Air. — Test  for 
Carbonic  Acid  in  Air. — Diseases  caused  by  Foul 
Air. — Composition  of  Sewer- Air. — Ground  Air. — 
Ventilation. — Smoky  Chimneys. 

II. — Drainage 21-66 

Privy  - Vaults.  — Tanks. — Pails.  — Earth  - Closets. — 
Water-Carriage. — Plumbing  Regulations  of  New 
York  City  Board  of  Health. — Explanatory  Re- 
marks.— Drainage  of  Country  Houses. — Subsoil 
Drainage. — Defective  Drainage. — Sources  of  Bad 


Odors. — Examination  of  House-Drainage.-— Pepper- 
mint Test. — Summary. — Exclusion  of  Ground- Air. 

III.  — Disinfection 66-73 

Directions  issued  by  the  National  Board  of  Health. 

— Comments. — Precautions  in  Special  Diseases. 

IV.  — Food 73-85 

Adulterations,  and  Methods  of  detecting  them. 

V. — Water 86-go 


Pollution  of  Water. — Filters. — Tests  for  Impuri- 
ties.— Precautions. 

APPENDIX  A. — Disinfectants 91-99 


“ B. — Plumbers*  Materials  . . 100-102 

INDEX 103 


% 


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Necessary  to  continued  good  health  are  Good 
Air,  Good  Food,  and  Good  Water.  It  is  the 
object  of  Sanitary  Science  to  secure  these. 


CHAPTER  L 

AIR. 

Normal  air  contains  79  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
20.96  per  cent  of  oxygen,  and  .04  per  cent  (4  parts 
in  10,000)  of  carbonic  acid. 

Oxygen  supports  animal  life  ; carbonic  acid, 
vegetable  life ; and  the  use  of  the  nitrogen,  other- 
wise than  as  a diluent,  is  not  known. 

Very  pure  air  contains  78.98  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
20.99  per  cent  of  oxygen,  and  .03  per  cent  of  car- 
bonic acid. 

Air  begins  to  be  very  bad  when  the  oxygen  is 
reduced  to  20.60  parts  in  100.  In  mines,  where  can- 


8 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


dies  go  out,  oxygen  is  reduced  to  18.50  parts  in  100, 
and,  in  the  worst  specimen  yet  examined  by  Angus 
Smith,  to  18.27.  which  the  percentage  of 

oxygen  has  been  reduced  to  17.20  is  very  difficult  to 
remain  in  for  many  minutes. 

Aside  from  impurities  due  to  local  causes,  the 
purest  air  is  found  from  six  to  forty  feet  above 
the  ground,  and  the  - most  impure  from  seventy  to 
ninety  feet,  where  the  air  from  chimneys  is  poured 
forth. 

Air  is  contaminated  by  the  products  of 
respiration  and  the  bodily  emanations  of 
healthy  persons,  and  by  the  products  of  com- 
bustion. 

An  adult  man,  in  ordinary  work,  gives  off  in 
twenty-four  hours  from  twelve’  to  eighteen  cubic 
feet  of  carbonic  acid,  according  to  his  size  ; women, 
children,  and  old  persons  less. 

Edward  Smith  found  that  an  adult  asleep  ex- 
haled about  nineteen  grains  of  carbonic  acid  per 
hour,  and,  when  he  walked  three  miles  an  hour,  the 
amount  was  increased  to  100.6  grains. 

W.  R.  Nichols,  of  Boston,  found  in  passenger- 
cars  23.2  parts  of  carbonic  acid  to  10,000  parts  of 
air,  and  in  the  Berkeley  Street  sewer  10.4  parts  per 
10,000.  Wilson  found  in  Portsmouth  Prison,  in  cells 
containing  six  hundred  and  fourteen  cubic  feet  of 
air,  always  occupied,  7.20  parts  per  10,000,  and  in 
cells  containing  two  hundred  and  ten  cubic  feet,  oc- 
cupied only  at  night,  10.44  per  10,000. 


9 


Besides  the  carbonic  acid,  there  is  exhaled  from 
the  lungs  a small  amount  of  organic  matter,  of  un- 
known composition.  It  forms  a glutinous  coating 
on  the  furniture,  walls,  and  windows  of  closed  rooms, 
decomposes  rapidly,  imparts  a peculiarly  offensive 
odor  to  the  air  of  a badly-ventilated  room,  and  poi- 
sons those  who  inhale  it.  Its  quantity  is  so  small 
that  it  has  so  far  defied  analysis.  In  a room  con- 
taminated by  respiration  alone,  the  odor  of  this  sub- 
stance begins  to  be  perceived  when  the  carbonic  acid 
has  increased  to  about  7 parts  in  10,000,  and  10  parts 
in  10,000  may  be  considered  the  maximum  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  allowable  in  dwellings. 

The  following  table  shows  how  much  carbonic 
acid  artificial  lights  produce  per  hour  : 


Petroleum,  slit-bumer, 

10 

candle-light,  1.98 

cubic  feet. 

Petroleum,  round-burner. 

7.6 

“ 2.15 

it 

Oil-lamp, 

4 

“ 1.09 

a 

Candle, 

I 

“ -39 

it 

Coal-gas,  slit-bumer, 

7.8 

“ 3-25 

it 

Coal-gas,  flat-burner, 

10 

“ 3 

u 

A five-foot  gas-burner  produces  as  much  carbonic 
acid  per  hour  as  five  men. 

As  the  most  poisonous  element  of  the  breath  can 
not  readily  be  detected  by  analysis,  the  amount  of 
carbonic  acid  is  taken  as  a measure  of  the  impurity 
of  air  contaminated  by  respiration. 

Test  for  carbonic  acid  in  air  (Pettenkofer’s 
method)  : 

Shake  up  a definite  volume  of  the  air  in  a closed 


lo  SANITARY  INFORMATION, 

vessel  with  a definite  amount  of  lime-water.  The 
carbonic  acid  unites  with  the  lime,  forming  carbon- 
ate of  lime.  This  compound,  being  insoluble  in 
water,  renders  it  turbid.  The  degree  of  turbidity 
may  be  judged  of  by  looking  through  the  water  at 
a cross  marked  in  lead-pencil  on  the  inside  of  a 
piece  of  paper  pasted  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
bottle,  and  a standard  may  be  fixed  by  shaking  up 
ordinary  external  air  in  a sixteen-ounce  bottle,  as 
described  below,  which  will  show  the  degree  of  tur- 
bidity produced  by  4 parts  of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000. 
Lime-water  can  be  bought  of  a druggist,  or  made  by 
shaking  distilled  water  with  slaked  lime,  allowing  it 
to  settle,  and  pouring  off  the  clear  liquid.  With  a 
common  hand-ball  syringe,  the  end  of  the  rubber 
tube  resting  on  the  bottom  of  the  bottle,  pump  in  air, 
until  the  bottle  is  filled  with  the  air  to  be  tested. 
Put  in  half  an  ounce  of  lime-water,  cork  the  bottle, 
and  shake  it  up  well.  Let  it  stand  for  five  minutes, 
and  if  the  water  becomes  turbid,  as  if  a little  milk 
had  been  dropped  into  it,  the  presence  of  carbonic 
acid  in  the  air  will  be  indicated  in  the  following  pro- 
portions. 


Size  of  bottle.  Amount  of  lime-water.  Parts  in  10,000. 


16 

ounces 

1-2  ounce 

12 

u 

(( 

10 

il 

it 

8 

it 

u 

6 

i( 

u 

4 

(( 

(( 

A little  less  than  4 
A little  more  than  5 

((  (t  t(  ^ 

8 

A little  more  than  10 


(t 


u 


AIR. 


11 


Dangers  of  such  Contamination. 

Air  contaminated  by  the  products  of  respiration 
and  by  bodily  emanations  (perspiration,  etc.)  con- 
tains substances  which  have  been  ejected  from  hu- 
man bodies  as  useless  or  injurious.  What  all  sys- 
tems reject  can  not  be  healthy  for  any,  and  it  is 
found  that  long-continued  exposure  in  an  atmos- 
phere laden  with  these  impurities  produces  anaemia, 
general  debility,  and  poor  nutrition,  conditions  likely 
to  result  in  the  development  of  scrofula  and  con- 
sumption. It  is  believed,  too,  that  typhus  fever  may 
originate  in  this  manner,  while  when  such  poisons 
are  inhaled  in  a more  concentrated  form,  as  in  the 
famous  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  nausea,  vertigo, 
convulsions,  and  even  death  are  produced. 

The  air  is  at  certain  times  and  places  con- 
taminated by  the  products  of  respiration  and 
the  bodily  emanations  of  diseased  persons. 

In  certain  diseases,  commonly  known  as  con- 
tagious, organic  matters  are  thrown  off  by  the 
lungs  and  skin  of  the  sick,  which  tend  to  reproduce 
these  diseases  in  the  bodies  of  other  persons.  The 
exact  nature  of  these  poisons  is  in  most  cases  un- 
known, but  they  are  generally  believed  to  be  living 
microscopic  organisms  (bacteria,  bacilli,  .micrococci, 
etc.),  which  multiply  their  kind  in  the  blood  of  the 
person  who  has  inhaled  them. 

Of  such  diseases,  the  dangerous  ones  are  small- 
pox, measles,  scarlet  fever,  typhus  fever,  and  diph- 


% 


12 


SANITAR  Y INFOjRMA  TION. 


theria,  and  their  contagious  quality  is  marked  very 
nearly  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  men- 
tioned. 

The  less  harmful  of  these  diseases  are  whooping- 
cough,  chicken-pox,  mumps,  and  German  measles. 

There  is  strong  evidence  that  consumption  is 
contagious,  though  not  as  markedly  so  as  the  dis- 
eases above  enumerated. 

The  air  may  be  contaminated  by  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  decomposition  of  the  excreta  of 
healthy  persons. 

The  contents  of  cesspools,  privy-vaults,  and  sew- 
ers, are  generally  composed  of  discharges  from  the 
bowels  and  kidneys,  various  matters  washed  off  from 
the  bodies  of  animals  and  from  culinary  and  house- 
hold utensils,  and  dissolved  soap,  constituting  a mix- 
ture which  rapidly  decomposes  and  affords  a fine  soil 
for  the  nourishment  and  propagation  of  microscopic 
organisms. 

Air  contaminated  in  this  way,  popularly  known 
as  sewer-gas,  contains  sulphide  of  ammonium  and 
sulphureted  hydrogen  (which  cause  the  characteristic 
odor  of  rotten  eggs),  carbureted  hydrogen,  nitrogen, 
and  carbonic  acid  (odorless),  and  certain  undeter- 
mined organic  matters. 

Professor  Nichols  analyzed  the  air  of  the  Berke- 
ley Street  sewer  in  Boston,  a type  of  a badly-con- 
structed and  badly-ventilated  sewer.  The  sulphu- 
reted hydrogen,  etc.,  were  in  too  small  quantity  to 
be  measured.  The  highest  percentages  found  were. 


AIR. 


13 


of  oxygen,  20.90;  of  nitrogen,  79.26;  of  carbonic 
acid,  .4  (40  parts  in  10,000).  The  lowest  were, 
oxygen,  20.48  ; nitrogen,  78.89  ; and  carbonic  acid, 
.05  (5  parts  in  10,000). 

Letheby  found  that  sewer- water  (containing  128.8 
grains  of  organic  matter  to  the  gallon)  excluded  from 
air  yielded,  for  nine  weeks,  1.2  cubic  inches  of  gas 
per  hour.  In  one  hundred  volumes  of  this  mixture 
there  were  78.83  parts  of  marsh-gas  (carbureted  hy- 
drogen), 15.90  parts  of  carbonic  acid,  10.19  parts  of 
nitrogen,  and  .08  of  sulphureted  hydrogen.  Exami- 
nation of  sewage-mud  in  the  Seine  by  Durand-Claye 
gave  72.88  parts  of  marsh-gas,  13.30  of  carbonic  acid, 
6.70  of  sulphureted  hydrogen,  2.54  of  carbonic  oxide, 
4.58  of  nitrogen,  and  some  other  gases.  Such  mixtures 
are  sometimes  found  in  long-closed  cesspools  and 
privy-vaults,  but  not  in  sewers  proper. 

Of  these  gases,  sulphureted  hydrogen  and  car- 
bonic acid  are  very  poisonous,  and  when  they  are  in- 
haled in  concentrated  form  produce  almost  imme- 
diate unconsciousness,  and  often  death.  When  less 
concentrated,  sewer-air  may  cause  nausea  and  vomit- 
ing, followed  by  a low  fever  which  sometimes  kills, 
and,  if  not,  results  in  a tedious  convalescence.  As 
a rule,  it  is  so  largely  diluted  that  it  produces  no 
immediate  effects,  excepting  the  discomfort  due  to 
offensive  odor,  and  the  mental  anxiety  resulting 
therefrom. 

The  effects  usually  attributed  to  the  continued 

breathing  of  diluted  sewer-air  are  general  malaise^ 
2 


H 


SANITAJ^Y  INFORMATION. 


loss  of  appetite,  anaemia,  impaired  nutrition,  and 
therefore  diminished  power  of  resistance  to  attacks 
of  disease  which  are  not  directly  attributable  to 
sewer-air  poisoning.  It  is  doubtful  whether  these 
effects  are  due  to  the  constant  introduction  of  sewer- 
air  in  minute  quantities  into  the  blood,  or  to  the 
inhalation  of  particles  of  organic  matter  floating  in 
such  a contaminated  atmosphere. 

The  greatest  danger,  however,  in  the 
breathing  of  sewer-air  is  that  of  inhaling 
with  it  the  living  particles  (bacilli,  etc.)  con- 
tained or  developed  in  the  excreta  of  diseased 
persons. 

The  diseases  believed  to  be  propagated  in  this 
way  are  cholera,  typhoid  fever,  and  dysentery. 

The  discharges  both  from  the  mouth  (stomach)  and 
bowels  are  known  to  be  poisonous. 

It  believed  by  many  that  the  poisons  of  typhoid 
fever  and  diphtheria  may  be  developed  de  novo  by 
the  decomposition  of  the  mixtures  found  in  cess- 
pools and  sewers. 

There  also  seems  to  be  a connection,  imperfectly 
understood,  between  bad  drainage  and  malarial  fevers, 
and  perhaps  cerebro-spinal  meningitis. 

The  origin  of  yellow  fever  is  not  yet  ascertained. 

Surgical  erysipelas,  puerperal  fever,  and  hospital 
gangrene,  are  only  developed  on  and  about  wounded 
surfaces,  and  seem  to  be  due  to  the  organisms  de- 
veloped in  the  secretions  of  such  surfaces,  where 
ventilation  and  drainage  are  bad. 


AII^. 


15 


Air  may  be  contaminated  by  the  products 
of  organic  decomposition  rising  from  the 
ground  and  drawn  into  the  house  through 
furnace-flues,  etc. 

Ground-air  contains  from  1.49  to  80  parts  per 
1,000  of  carbonic  acid,  and  frequently  contains  prod- 
ucts of  organic  decomposition.  A damp  soil  is  also 
very  unhealthy,  as  shown  by  Bowditch  and  others. 

persistently  low  ground-water,  say  fifteen  feet 
down  or  more,  is  healthy  ; a persistently  high  ground- 
water,  less  than  five  feet  from  the  surface,  is  un- 
healthy ; and  a fluctuating  level,  especially  if  the 
changes  are  sudden  and  violent,  is  very  unhealthy 
(De  Chaumont).  Such  soils  are  especially  produc- 
tive of  consumption. 

VENTILATION. 

The  contamination  of  the  atmosphere  by  the  res- 
piration and  bodily  emanations  of  human  beings  and 
other  animals  is  unavoidable,  but  the  noxious  matters 
thus  added  to  the  air  are  being  constantly  changed 
in  the  following  ways  : 

1.  Oxidation.  The  organic  matters,  which  have 

been  mentioned  as  especially  injurious,  are  grad- 
ually decomposed  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and 
changed  into  harmless  substances,  which  either  re- 
main as  constituents  of  the  atmosphere,  or  are  washed 
into  the  earth  by  rains.  > 

2.  Vegetable  growth.  Plants  absorb  carbon- 
ic acid  (which  is  composed  of  carbon  and  oxy- 


i6 


SANITAJ^y  INFORMATION'. 


gen)  through  their  leaves,  and  give  back  oxygen  to 
the  air,  retaining  the  carbon  for  their  own  nourish- 
ment. There  is  thus  a constant  interchange  between 
animals  and  vegetables,  the  former  exhaling  carbonic 
acid  and  appropriating  oxygen,  and  the  latter  appro- 
priating carbonic  acid  and  exhaling  oxygen.  The 
small  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  always  found  in 
the  air  is,  therefore,  essential  to  vegetable  life,  while 
harmless  to  animals. 

It  is  necessary,  for  the  proper  purification  of  a 
contaminated  atmosphere,  that  it  should  be  largely 
diluted  with  fresh  air.  Hence  arises  the  need  of  the 
C9nstant  change  of  air  in  dwellings. 

^ Air  expands  when  heated  and  so  becomes  lighter. 
Local  differences  of  temperature,  created  by  natural 
and  artificial  means,  therefore  bring  about  currents 
in  the  atmosphere,  the  cooler  and  heavier  column  of 
air  always  descending,  and  the  warmer  and  lighter 
always  rising.  This  fact  is  taken  advantage  of  in 
ventilation. 

It  has  been  estimated  that,  to  keep  the  air  pure, 
three  thousand  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  hour  are 
required  for  a male  adult,  and  that  a sleeping-room 
should  contain  at  least  twelve  hundred  cubic  feet  of 
air-space  for  each  occupant. 

When  the  temperature  of  the  external  air  is  such 
that  the  doors  and  windows  can  be  constantly  open, 
they  afford  the  best  means  of  ventilation  for  dwell- 
ings. An  exposure  to  draughts,  however,  is  danger- 
ous to  many  persons,  and  it  is  desirable,  therefore,  in 


AIR. 


17 

cooler  weather,  to  devise  means  of  admitting  fresh 
air  without  creating  a draught.  At  a temperature  of 
60°,  a draught  is  perceived  when  the  air  moves  at  a 
higher  rate  of  speed  than  three  feet  a second.  Now 
it  is  obvious  that  a draught  may  be  rendered  harm- 
less if  the  entering  current  of  air  is  guided  in  such  a 
direction  as  not  to  strike  the  occupants  of  a room. 
This  is  accomplished  simply  and  cheaply  by  either 
of  two  devices : If  the  lower  sash  of  a window  is 
raised  a few  inches  (say  four),  andjhe»>g^ace  between 
the  bottom  of  the  sash  and  tbtf^indoy^^^S:^^  filled 
by  an  accurately  fitted  boar^  there  wifr'beV^^^ace 
between  the  panes  of  the  two  sash^,  throughfi?^ 
air  will  enter,  spouting  upward  tow^^j^h^^ceillh 
and  not  falling  until  its  mon|y^f^um^s'^^^ 
minished  that  it  will  not  be  The 

other  plan  is  to  make  the  upper^rtion  of  the^^per 
sash  movable,  so  that  it  can  be  tilt^i^H%ar  at  sud 
an  angle  as  to  direct  the  entering  ci 
(essentially  the  Sherringham  valve,  though  this  is 
made  of  iron,  with  side-cheeks  to  prevent  a lateral 
outflow  of  air). 

There  are  various  patent  apparatuses  for  the  ad- 
mission of  fresh  air  through  windows  without  draught, 
but  they  are  mostly  modifications  of  the  methods 
above  mentioned. 

In  weather  when  artificial  heat  is  necessary  for 
comfort,  thorough  ventilation  is  not  difficult,  pro- 
vided expense  is  not  considered.  As  the  removal 

of  the  foul  air,  however,  involves  a considerable  waste 
2 


i8 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION. 


of  heat  and  consumption  of  fuel,  the  means  of  pro- 
curing the  best  ventilation  at  the  least  cost  becomes 
a problem  of  great  intricacy,  which  has  not  yet  been 
satisfactorily  solved. 

Fireplaces,  or  open  grates,  are  excellent  venti- 
lators. An  ordinary  fireplace  renews  the  air  of  the 
room  four  or  five  times  hourly,  remo\dng  in  that  time 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  cubic  feet  of  air. 
But  only  about  12  or  14  per  cent,  of  the  heat  given 
off  by  the  fuel  is  utilized,  the  rest  passing  off  by 
the  chimney.  The  objections  to  the  fireplace  as  a 
sole  means  of  heating  are,  its  wastefulness,  and  the 
fact  that  it  warms  only  by  radiation,  so  that  the  room 
is  unequally  warmed,  and  may  be  too  cold  in  one 
place  and  insupportably  hot  in  another. 

Stoves  and  fumaces  can  not  be  relied  on  for 
ventilation,  the  ventilating  power  of  a close  stove 
being  only  one  tenth  of  that  required  for  a single 
adult. 

Modem  fireplaces  are  sometimes  built  with  a me- 
tallic flue  extending  upward  into  the  chimney.  Be- 
tween this  flue  and  the  masonry  is  an  air-chamber 
opening  to  the  external  air  and  communicating  with 
the  room  near  the  ceiling,  so  that  fresh  air  from  out- 
side the  house  is  continuously  warmed,  and  dis- 
charged into  the  room  at  a temperature  of  80°  or  90°. 
The  Galton  fireplace  (Fig.  i)  is  of  this  kind,  and 
utilizes  35  per  cent  of  the  fuel. 

The  best  combined  heating  and  ventilating  ar- 
rangement at  present  seems  to  be  that  which  warms 


AIR. 


19 


the  fresh  air  by  means  of  a soapstone  furnace  or 
steam-coils,  and  removes  the  foul  air  through  a fire- 
place. In  milder  weather,  gas  may  be  burned  in  the 
chimney  at  a slight  expense.  According  to  Morin, 


i •'  ‘i  ' 'I  "1  ' — T I- 

Fig.  I. — Galton’s  fireplace. 

seven  cubic  feet  of  gas  burned  in  a flue  eleven  inches 
square  and  sixty-six  feet  high,  will  draw  thirteen 
thousand  three  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air  per  hour 
from  a room. 

The  dampers  of  stoves  should  never  be  in  the 


20 


SANITAR  Y INRORMA  TION. 


pipes,  for  they  dam  back  the  gases  which  ought  to 
enter  the  chimney,  and  force  them  into  the  room. 
The  fire  should  be  regulated  by  dampers  which  pre- 
vent the  access  of  air,  and  not  its  escape  after  con- 
tamination. 

Ventilating  flues  in  walls  do  very  little  good,  un- 
less special  means  are  provided  to  heat  them  (e.  g., 
gas  lights  or  lamps). 

The  common  whirling  ventilators  in  window-panes 
are  of  very  little  use. 

As  a rule,  fresh  air  should  enter  a room  near  the 
ceiling,  and  foul  air  be  removed  near  the  floor. 

In  very  cold  climates,  dangerous  draughts  are 
often  produced  by  the  cooling  of  the  air  in  contact 
with  the  window-panes,  so  that  it  falls  and  sweeps 
along  the  floor.  This  danger  may  be  prevented  by 
double  windows,  which  also  save  fuel.  Double  win- 
dows may  be  utilized  in  ventilation,  by  raising  the 
lower  outer  sash  a few  inches,  and  lowering  the  up- 
per inner  one. 

Smoky  Chimneys, 

When  a chimney  smokes,  the  draught  is  down- 
ward. This  may  b^  caused — i.  By  an  obstruction 
in  the  flue  or  stove-pipe.  2.  By  a higher  chimney  in 
the  same  house,  the  air  coming  down  the  shorter 
chimney,  and  going  up  the  other.  The  remedy  is  to 
equalize  the  heights,  or  close  the  doors  between  the 
two.  3.  If,  when  the  fire  is  started,  the  air  outside  is 
warmer  than  that  in  the  chimney,  the  heavier  column 


DRAINAGE, 


21 


will  of  course  fall.  This  effect  will  vanish  in  a few 
minutes,  when  the  flue  becomes  heated.  4.  The 
doors  and  windows  of  the  room  may  be  so  tight  as 
to  prevent  a sufficient  supply  of  fresh  air  to  burn  the 
fuel.  If  so,  they  must  be  opened.  5.  The  chimney 
may  be  lower  than  the  adjoining  wall,  and  the  wind 
from  certain  directions,  striking  the  wall,  may  be  di- 
rected down  the  flues.  This  may  be  remedied  by 
extending  the  chimney  above  the  wall,  or  by  cap- 
ping the  flues  with  one  of  the  various  cowls  that  pre- 
vent a downward  draught. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DRAINAGE. 

How  to  prevent  the  contamination  of  the 
air  by  the  products  of  decomposition. 

There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  emana- 
tions from  fresh  house-slops,  or  the  excreta  of  healthy 
animals,  are  injurious  to  health,  but  it  has  been 
proved  that  when  these  matters  decompose  they  be- 
come dangerous.  The  bubbles  of  gas  which  rise  to 
the  surface  of  such  decomposing  matters,  when  they 
burst,  throw  up  solid  particles  of  organic  matter  in 
the  air,  which  float  about  for  some  time  before  fall- 
ing to  the  ground.  It  is,  therefore,  essential  to 
health  that  all  such  matters  shall  be  removed  from 
the  vicinity  of  human  beings  promptly,  before  de- 


22 


SAmTAI^Y  INFOI^MATION’. 


composition  sets  in,  or  else  so  manipulated  as  to  pre- 
vent decomposition,  or  promote  rapid  oxidation. 

The  lower  animals  seem  to  recognize  by  instinct 
that  their  excreta  are  dangerous,  and  they  deposit 
them  (except  when  penned  up  by  men)  in  places  re- 
mote from  their  abodes,  or  else  carefully  cover  them 
with  fresh  earth.  Man  alone  retains  his  excreta  in 
carefully  prepared  receptacles  near  his  place  of  resi- 
dence, until  the  accumulation  is  so  large  that  he  is 
forced  to  remove  it. 

The  ordinary  privy-vault  should  never  be  al- 
lowed. Its  only  advantage  is  its  cheapness,  while  it 
involves  constant  danger  of  contamination  of  the 
water  of  adjoining  wells  or  cisterns.  Many  an  epi- 
demic of  typhoid  fever  has  been  unmistakably  traced 
to  this  source.  If  such  a vault  is  a necessity,  it 
should  be  made  water-tight,  be  small  and  frequently 
emptied,  the  contents  should  be  frequently  disin- 
fected, preferably  by  being  covered  with  fresh  earth, 
and  it  should  be  built  in  such  a spot  that  the  cur- 
rent of  ground-water  (which  furnishes  the  well-water) 
shall  be  from  the  well  toward  the  vault,  and  never  in 
the  opposite  direction.  Better  still  is  a movable 
tank,  in  which  the  excreta  are  received  and  covered 
with  fresh  earth  daily.  This  can  be  emptied  over  a 
garden  or  field  without  offense.  In  villages  where 
sewerage  is  impossible,  pails  are  sometimes  used. 
They  have  tight  covers,  and  are  removed  frequently 
(once  or  twice  a week,  clean  ones  being  substituted 
at  the  time  of  removal  by  the  proper  authorities). 


DRAmAGE. 


23 

the  contents  being  converted  into  poudrette  at  some 
place  remote  from  habitations. 

A better  means  of  disposing  of  the  excreta,  where 
water-closets  can  not  be  had,  is  the  earth-closet, 
of  which  there  are  several  varieties.  These  are  so 
constructed  that  they  resemble  a water-closet  in  ap- 
pearance, but  the  excreta  are  caught  in  a receptacle 
beneath  the  seat,  and  covered  with  earth,  when  the 
handle  beside  the  seat  is  raised.  Dry  earth  is  an 
excellent  disinfectant,*  and  when  excreta  are  thus 
mingled  with  it  they  are  gradually  oxidized  and  dis- 
appear, so  that  after  a time  the  same  earth  may,  with 
proper  precautions,  be  used  again. 

The  earth  for  these  closets  must  be  dry,  and 
sifted  of  coarse  particles,  and  enough  must  be  de- 
posited upon  the  excreta  to  cover  them  and  to  absorb 
the  urine. 

Its  advantages,  as  compared  with  the  water-closet, 
are,  that  it  is  cheaper,  requires  less  repair,  is  not 
hurt  by  frost,  is  not  injured  when  improper  sub- 
stances are  thrown  down  it,  and  requires  no  water. 
Its  disadvantages  are,  the  trouble  of  collecting  and 
drying  the  earth,  the  necessity  of  frequently  remov- 
ing the  soil,  the  dust  sometimes  caused  by  its  use, 

* Its  disinfectant  properties  have  been  shown  to  be  due  to 
the  presence  of  microscopic  organisms,  which  decompose  the 
excreta  in  the  act  of  nourishing  themselves.  A little  chloro- 
form paralyzes  them,  and  deprives  the  earth  of  its  disinfect, 
ing  properties,  which  return,  however,  when  the  chloroform  is 
washed  out,  and  the  organisms  recover  their  natural  vigor. 


24 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION. 


and  the  necessity  of  providing  additional  means  for 
the  disposal  of  slops. 

A perfect  method  of  disposal  of  excreta  and 
other  house  refuse  would  be  one  which  would  in- 
sure their  prompt  and  rapid  removal  in  such  a way 
as  to  prevent  the  contamination  of  the  air  of  any 
inhabited  locality  during  such  removal,  or  after  their 
final  deposition.  The  most  convenient  and  economi- 
cal means  yet  invented  of  accomplishing  this  object 
is  water-carriag6 ; i.  e.,  the  matters  referred  to  are 
conveyed  from  the  house,  with  the  addition  of  suffi- 
. cient  water  to  insure  a rapid  flow,  through  a series  of 
pipes  and  tunnels  into  a large  body  of  running  water, 
or  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  under  conditions 
which  insure  their  rapid  conversion  into  harmless  sub- 
stances. 

The  water-carriage  system  includes  bowls  or 
sinks  for  the  deposit  of  refuse  matters,  connecting- 
pipes  to  remove  such  matters  from  the  house,  and 
public  sewers  for  their  further  conveyance  away 
from  human  abodes.  The  construction  and  care  of 
public  sewers  belong  to  the  local  government ; we 
have  here  only  to  do  with  house-drainage. 

The  essentials  of  house-drainage  are  : i.  The 
primary  receptacles  (bowls,  sinks,  water-closets,  etc.) 
should  be  of  such  material  and  so  constructed  as  to 
be  impervious  to  fluids,  and  easy  to  clean  and  keep 
clean.  2,  The  pipes  should  be  of  such  material  as 
to  be  as  durable  as  possible,  and  so  laid  and  con- 
nected as  to  form  gas-tight  conduits,  and  to  insure 


DRAINAGE. 


25 


the  rapid  passage  of  whatever  enters  them,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  deposits  or  incrustations. 
3.  The  drainage  system  should  be  so  planned  and 
constructed  that  neither  the  atmosphere  of  the  house 
nor  the  drinking-water  can  be  polluted  by  anything 
escaping  from  it,  and  no  noxious  matters  can  enter 
it  from  any  other  house. 

The  following  plan  of  construction  is  that  rec- 
ommended by  the  Board  of  Health  of  New  York 
city : 

1.  All  materials  must  be  of  good  quality  and  free 
from  defects  ; the  work  must  be  executed  in  a thor- 
ough and  workmanlike  manner. 

2.  The  arrangement  of  soil  and  waste  pipes  must 
be  as  direct  as  possible. 

3.  The  drain,  soil,  and  waste  pipes,  and  the  traps, 
must,  if  practicable,  be  exposed  to  view  for  ready 
inspection  at  all  times,  and  for  convenience  in  re- 
pairing. When  necessarily  placed  within  partitions 
or  in  recesses  of  walls,  soil  and  waste  pipes  must  be 
covered  with  wood-work,  so  fastened  with  screws  as 
to  be  readily  removed.  In  no  case  shall  they  be 
absolutely  inaccessible. 

4.  It  is  recommended  to  place  the  soil  and  other 
vertical  pipes  in  a special  shaft,  between  or  adjacent 
to  the  water-closet  and  the  bath-room,  and  serving 
as  a ventilating  shaft  for  them.  This  shaft  should 
be  at  least  two  and  a half  feet  square.  It  should 
extend  from  the  cellar  through  the  roof,  and  should 
be  covered  by  a louvered  sky-light.  It  should  be 


26 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


accessible  at  every  story,  and  should  have  a very 
open  but  strong  grating  at  each  floor  to  stand  upon. 

Shafts  not  less  than  three  feet  square  in  area  are 
required  in  tenement-houses,  to  ventilate  interior 
water-closets. 

5.  Every  house  or  building  must  be  separately 
and  independently  connected  with  the  street-sewer. 

6.  Where  the  ground  is  made  or  filled  in,  the 
house-sewer — that  is  to  say,  the  portion  of  the  drain 
extending  from  the  public  sewer  to  the  front  wall — 
must  be  of  cast-iron,  with  the  joints  properly  calked 

. with  lead. 

7.  Where  the  soil  consists  of  a natural  bed  of 
loam,  sand,  or  rock,  the  house-sewer  may  be  of  hard, 
salt-glazed,  and  cylindrical  earthenware  pipe,  laid  on 
a smooth  bottom,  free  from  all  projections  of  rock, 
and  with  the  soil  well  rammed  to  prevent  any  set- 
tling of  the  pipe.  Each  section  must  be  wetted  be- 
fore applying  the  cement,  and  the  space  between 
each  hub  and  the  small  end  of  the  next  section  must 
be  completely  and  uniformly  filled  with  the  best 
hydraulic  cement.  Care  must  be  taken  to  prevent 
any  cement  being  forced  into  the  drain  to  become 
an  obstruction.  No  tempered-up  cement  shall  be 
used.  A straight-edge  must  be  used  inside  the  pipe, 
and  the  different  sections  must  be  laid  in  perfect 
line  on  the  bottom  and  sides. 

8.  Where  there  is  no  sewer  in  the  street,  and  it 
is  necessary  to  construct  a private  sewer  to  connect 
with  a sewer  on  an  adjacent  street  or  avenue,  it  must 


DRAINAGE. 


27 


be  laid  under  the  roadway  of  the  street  on  whkh  the 
houses  front,  and  not  through  the  yards  or  under 
the  houses. 

9.  The  house-drain  must  be  of  iron,  with  a fall 
of  at  least  one  quarter  inch  to  the  foot,  if  possible, 
and  not  more  than  one  inch  to  the  foot. 

10.  Where  water-closets  or  a school-sink  dis- 
charge into  it,  the  drain  must  be  at  least  four  inches 
in  diameter. 

11.  It  must  be  hung  on  the  cellar  wall  or  ceiling, 
unless  this  is  impracticable,  in  which  case  it  must  be 
laid  in  a trench  cut  at  a uniform  grade,  walled  upon 
the  sides  with  brick  laid  in  hydraulic  cement,  and 
provided  with  movable  covers,  and  with  a hydraulic 
concrete  base  of  four  inches  in  thickness,  on  which 
the  pipe  is  to  rest. 

12.  It  must  be  laid  in  a straight  line,  if  possible. 
All  changes  in  direction  must  be  made  with  curved 
pipes,  and  all  connections  with  Y-branch  pipes  and 
one-eighth  bends. 

13.  Any  house-drain  or  house-sewer,  put  in  and 
covered  without  due  notice  to  the  Health  Depart- 
ment, must  be  uncovered  for  inspection  at  the  direc- 
tion of  the  inspector. 

14.  A running  or  half  S-trap  must  be  placed  on 
the  house-drain  at  an  accessible  point  near  the  front 
of  the  house.  This  trap  must  be  furnished  with  a 
hand-hole  for  convenience  in  cleaning,  the  cover  of 
which  must  be  properly  fitted  and  made  gas  and  air 
tight  with  some  proper  cement. 


28 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


15.  There  must  be  an  inlet  for  fresh  air  entering 
Xhe  drain  just  inside  the  trap,  of  at  least  four  inches 
in  diameter,  leading  to  the  outer  air  and  opening  at 
or  near  the  street  curb,  or  at  a convenient  place  not 
less  than  ten  feet  from  the  nearest,  window.  No 
cold-air  box  for  a furnace  shall  be  so  placed  that  it 
can  by  any  possibility  draw  air  from  this  inlet-pipe. 
The  inlet-pipe  should  never  be  carried  up  to  the 
roof  inside  or  outside  the  house. 

16.  No  brick,  sheet-metal,  earthenware,  or  chim- 
ney-flue shall  be  used  as  a sewer-ventilator,  nor  to 
.ventilate  any  trap,  drain,  soil,  or  waste  pipe. 

17.  Every  Vertical  soil-pipe  and  waste-pipe  must 
be  of  iron,  and,  where  it  receives  the  discharge 
of  fixtures  on  two  or  more  floors,  it  must  be  ex- 
tended at  least  two  feet  above  the  highest  part 
of  the  roof  or  coping,  of  undiminished  size,  with 
a return  bend  or  cowl.  It  must  not  open  near 
a window,  nor  an  air-shaft  which  ventilates  living- 
rooms. 

18.  Soil,  waste,  and  vent  pipes,  in  an  extension, 
must  be  extended  above  the  roof  of  the  main  build- 
ing, when  otherwise  they  would  open  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  windows  of  the  main  house  or  the  ad- 
joining house. 

19.  Horizontal  soil  and  waste  pipes  are  pro- 
hibited. 

20.  The  minimum  diameter  of  soil-pipe  per- 
mitted is  four  inches.  A vertical  waste-pipe,  into 
which  a line  of  kitchen-sinks  discharge,  must  be  at 


DRAINAGE. 


29 

least  two  inches  in  diameter,  with  one  inch  and  a 
half*  branches. 

21.  Where  lead  pipe  is  used  to  connect  fixtures 
with  vertical  soil  or  waste  pipes,  or  to  connect  traps 
with  vertical  vent-pipes,  it  must  not  be  lighter  than 
D-pipe. 

22.  There  shall  be  no  traps  on  vertical  soil-pipes 
or  vertical  waste-pipes. 

23.  All  iron  pipes  must  be  sound,  free  from  holes, 
and  of  a uniform  thickness  of  not  less  than  one  eighth 
of  an  inch  for  a diameter  of  two,  three,  or  four  inches, 
or  five  thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  for  a diameter  of 
five  or  six  inches  ; and,  in  case  the  building  is  over 
sixty-five  feet  in  height  above  the  curb,  the  use  of 
what  is  known  as  extra  heavy  pipe,  and  correspond- 
ing fittings,  are  required,  which  weigh  as  follows  : 

2 inches,  5^  pounds  per  lineal  foot. 


3 

9i 

it 

it 

4 

a 

13 

it 

it 

5 

it 

17 

it 

it 

6 

it 

20 

it 

it 

7 

it 

27 

it 

it 

8 

it 

33i 

it 

it 

10 

it 

45 

it 

it 

12 

it 

54 

it 

it 

24.  Before  they  are  connected  they  must  be  thor- 
oughly coated  inside  and  outside  with  coal-tar  pitch, 
applied  hot,  or  some  other  equivalent  substance. 

25.  When  required  by  an  inspector  from  the 
Board  of  Health,  the  plumbing  must  be  tested  with 


30 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


the  peppermint  or  the  water  test,  by  the  plumber  in 
the  presence  of  the  inspector,  and  all  defective  joints 
made  tight,  and  other  openings  made  impermeable 
to  gases.  Defective  pipe  discovered  must  be  re- 
moved and  replaced  by  sound  pipe. 

26.  All  joints  in  the  iron  drain-pipes,  soil-pipes, 
and  waste-pipes  must  be  so  calked  with  oakum  and 
lead,  or  with  cement  made  of  iron  filings  and  sal- 
ammoniac,  as  to  make  them  impermeable  to  gas. 

27.  All  connections  of  lead  with  iron  pipes  must 
be  made  with  a brass  sleeve  or  ferrule,  of  the  same 
size  as  the  lead  pipe,  put  in  the  hub  of  the  branch 
of  the  iron  pipe,  and  calked  in  with  lead.  The 
lead  pipe  must  be  attached  to  the  ferrule  by  a wuped 
joint. 

28.  All  connections  of  lead  pipe  should  be  by 
wiped  joints. 

29.  Every  water-closet,  urinal,  sink,  basin,  wash- 
tray,  bath,  and  every  tub  or  set  of  tubs,  must  be 
separately  and  effectively  trapped,  except  where  a 
sink  and  wash-tubs  immediately  adjoin  each  other, 
in  which  case  the  waste-pipe  from  the  tubs  may  be 
connected  with  the  inlet  side  of  the  sink-trap  ; in 
such  a case  the  tub  waste-pipe  is  not  required  to  be 
separately  trapped. 

30.  Traps  must  be  placed  as  near  the  fixtures  as 
practicable,  and  in  no  case  shall  a trap  be  more  than 
two  feet  from  the  fixture. 

31.  All  exit-pipes  must  be  provided  with  strong 
metallic  strainers. 


DRAINAGE. 


31 


32.  In  no  case  shall  the  waste  from  a bath-tub  or 
other  fixture  be  connected  with  a water-closet  trap. 

33.  Traps  must  be  protected  from  siphonage,  and 
the  waste-pipe  leading  from  them  ventilated,  by  a 
special  air-pipe,  in  no  case  less  than  two  inches  in 
diameter  for  water-closet  traps,  and  one  inch  and  a 
half  for  other  traps.  Except  in  private  dwellings, 
the  vertical  vent-pipes  for  traps  of  water-closets  in 
buildings  more  than  four  stories  in  height  must  be  at 
least  three  inches  in  diameter,  with  two-inch  branches 
to  each  trap,  and  for  traps  of  other  fixtures  not  less 
than  two  inches  in  diameter,  with  branches  one  and 
a half  inches  in  diameter,  unless  the  trap  is  smaller, 
in  which  case  the  diameter  of  branch  vent-pipe  must 
be  at  least  equal  to  the  diameter  of  the  trap.  In  all 
cases  vertical  vent-pipes  must  be  of  cast  or  wrought 
iron. 

34.  These  pipes  must  either  extend  two  feet  above 
the  highest  part  of  the  roof  or  coping,  the  extension 
to  be  not  less  than  four  inches  in  diameter  to  avoid 
obstruction  from  frost,  or  they  may  be  branched  into 
a soil-pipe  above  the  inlet  from  the  highest  fixture. 
They  may  be  combined  by  branching  together  those 
which  serve  several  traps.  These  air-pipes  must  al- 
ways have  a continuous  slope,  to  avoid  collecting 
water  by  condensation. 

35.  Traps  of  fixtures  near  the  fresh-air  inlet  may 
be  ventilated  by  being  connected  with  it. 

36.  No  trap  vent-pipe  shall  be  used  as  a waste  or 
soil  pipe. 


32 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


37.  Overflow-pipes  from  fixtures  must,  in  each 
case,  be  connected  on  the  inlet  side  of  the  trap. 

38.  Every  safe  under  a wash-basin,  bath,  urinal, 
water-closet,  or  other  fixture,  must  be  drained  by  a 
special  pipe  not  directly  connected  with  any  soil- 
pipe,  waste-pipe,  drain,  or  sewer,  but  discharging 
into  an  open  sink,  upon  the  cellar-floor,  or  outside 
the  house. 

39.  The  waste-pipe  from  a refrigerator  shall  not 
be  directly  connected  with  the  soil  or  waste  pipe,  or 
with  the  drain  or  sewer,  or  discharge  into  the  soil ; 
it  should  discharge  into  an  open  sink.  Such- waste- 
pipes  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of  frequent 
flushing,  and  should  be  as  short  as  possible,  and  dis- 
connected from  the  refrigerator. 

40.  The  sediment-pipe  from  kitchen  boilers  must 
be  connected  on  the  inlet  side  of  the  sink-trap. 

41.  All  water-closets  within  the  house  must  be 
supplied  with  water  from  special  tanks  or  cisterns, 
the  water  of  which  is  not  used  for  any  other  pur- 
pose. The  closets  must  never  be  supplied  directly 
from  the  Croton  supply-pipes.  A group  of  closets 
may  be  supplied  from  one  tank ; but  water-closets 
on  different  floors  are  not  permitted  to  be  flushed 
from  one  tank. 

42.  The  valves  of  cisterns  must  be  so  fitted  and 
adjusted  as  to  prevent  wasting  of  water,  especially 
where  cisterns  are  supplied  from  a tank  on  the  roof. 

43.  The  overflow-pipes  from  water-closet  cisterns 
must  discharge  into  an  open  sink,  or  where  its  dis- 


DRAINAGE, 


33 


charge  will  attract  attention  and  indicate  that  waste 
of  water  is  occurring,  but  not  into  the  bowl  of  the 
water-closet,  not  into  the  soil  or  waste  pipe,  nor  into 
the  drain  or  sewer.  When  the  pressure  of  the  Croton 
is  not  sufficient  to  supply  these  tanks,  a pump  must 
be  provided. 

44.  Tanks  for  drinking-water  are  objectionable ; 
if  indispensable,  they  must  never  be  lined  with  lead, 
galvanized  iron,  or  zinc.  They  should  be  constructed 
of  iron,  or  wood  lined  with  tinned  and  planished 
copper.  The  overflow  should  discharge  upon  the 
roof,  or  be  trapped  and  discharge  into  an  open  sink, 
never  into  any  soil  or  waste  pipe  or  water-closet  trap, 
nor  into  the  drain  or  sewer. 

45.  Rain-water  leaders  must  never  be  used  as 
soil,  waste,  or  vent  pipes ; nor  shall  any  soil,  waste, 
or  vent  pipe  be  used  as  a leader. 

46.  When  within  the  house,  the  leader  must  be 
of  cast-iron,  with  leaded  joints  ; when  outside  of  the 
house,  and  connected  with  the  house-drain,  it  must 
be  trapped  beneath  the  ground  or  just  inside  of  the 
wall,  the  trap  being  arranged  in  either  case  so  as  to 
prevent  freezing.  In  every  case  where  a leader  opens 
near  a window  or  a light-shaft,  it  must  be  properly 
trapped  at  its  base. 

47.  No  steam  exhaust  or  blow-off  pipe  from  a 

steam-boiler  will  be  allowed  to  connect  with  any  soil 

or  waste  pipe,  or  directly  with  the  house-drain.  They 

should  discharge  into  a tank  or  condenser,  the  waste 

from  which,  if  to  be  discharged  into  the  sewer  through 

3 


3+ 


SANITAR  Y INFORM  A TION, 


the  house-dram,  must  be  connected  on  the  sewer 
side  of  the  running  trap. 

48.  Subsoil  drains  must  be  provided  whenever 
necessary. 

49.  Yards  and  areas  should  always  be  properly 
graded,  cemented,  flagged,  or  well  paved,  and  prop- 
erly drained  ; when  the  drain  is  connected  with  the 
house-drain,  it  must  be  effectively  trapped.  Front- 
area  drains  must,  where  practicable,  be  connected 
with  the  house-drain  inside  of  the  running  trap. 

50.  Cellar  and  foundation  walls  must,  where  pos- 
sible, be  rendered  impervious  to  dampness,  and  the 
use  of  asphaltum  or  coal-tar  pitch,  in  addition  to 
hydraulic  cement,  is  recommended  for  that  purpose. 

51.  No  privy-vault  or  school-sink  will  be  allowed 
in  any  cellar  or  basement ; nor  shall  the  general  privy 
accommodation  of  a tenement  or  lodging  house  be 
allowed  to  be  in  the  cellar  or  basement. 

52.  No  privy- vault,  or  cesspool  for  sewage,  will 
be  permitted  in  any  part  of  the  city  where  water- 
closets  or  a school-sink  can  be  connected  with  a 
public  sewer  in  the  street. 

53.  School-sinks  must  be  of  cast-iron,  not  more 
than  two  feet  in  depth,  connected  at  the  upper  end 
with  the  Croton  supply,  and  at  the  lower  end  with  a 
drain  leading  to  the  street-sewer,  and  provided  with 
an  outlet  at  the  lowest  point  and  on  the  bottom  so 
as  to  admit  of  a complete  discharge  of  the  contents 
whenever  the  outlet  is  opened  and  the  sink  flushed 
with  water. 


35 


DRAINAGE, 

54.  The  sink  must  be  set  so  that  the  flange  will 
be  at  least  two  feet  below  the  yard  surface,  to  pre- 
vent freezing.  It  must  be  at  least  ten  feet  from  any 
window,  or  as  near  that  distance  as  practicable. 

55.  The  waste-pipe  from  a hydrant-sink  in  the 
, yard  must  be  properly  trapped,  especially  where  it 

discharges  into  a school-sink,  a privy-vault,  or  cess- 
pool, or  the  house-drain. 

56.  Open  light  and  air  courts  must  be  properly 
drained. 

57.  When  a privy-vault  or  cesspool  must  neces- 
sarily be  used,  and  the  water-supply  of  the  premises 
is  from  a well,  they  must  be  at  least  fifty  feet  from 
the  well ; and  the  privy-vault  must  be  absolutely 
tight 

Explanatory  Remarks, 

2.  As  direct  as  possible.  To  insure  an  unin- 
terrupted flow.  When  a pipe  has  to  pass  an  obstruc- 
tion (a  beam  or  post)  an  offset  is  used  (Fig.  2). 

3.  The  soil-pipe  is  that  which  conveys  the  con- 
tents of  water-closets  to  the  house-drain  : the  waste- 
pipes  are  intended  to  carry  other  refuse  fluids  only. 
The  house-drain  is  the  large  pipe  which  receives 
the  contents  of  the  soil  and  waste  pipes  and  conveys 
them  outside  the  house. 

A trap  is  a bend  (with  or  without  an  enlarge- 
ment) of  the  pipe,  intended  to  retain  a sufficient 
amount  of  the  fluids  that  enter  it  to  occlude  the  pipe 
and  prevent  the  backward  flow  of  air.  The  effective 


3^ 


SANITAR  K*  INFORMA  TION 


water-seal  is  represented  by  the  total  depth  of 
water  in  the  trap,  minus  the  inside  diameter  of  the 
pipe,  and  should  be  at  least  one  inch. 


Traps  are  of  various  kinds,  and  many  are  pat- 
ented. The  accompanying  figures  represent  the  prin- 
cipal types. 

Fig.  3 is  the  S-trap.  Fig.  4 is  the  half  S-trap. 
There  is  also  a three-quarter  S-trap.  Fig.  5 is  a D- 
trap,  formerly  much  used,  but  now  mostly  out  of 
date,  because  it  retains  dirt.  Fig.  6 is  a bag-trap. 


It  has  no  advantage  over  the  S-trap,  and  uses  more 
material.  Fig.  7 is  a bottle-trap,  much  used  in  Bos- 
ton. This  also  retains  dirt.  There  are  varieties  of 


fluids  enter  them  at  the  bottom  and  flow  out  at  the 
top. 


Fig.  2. — Offset.  Fig.  3. — S-trap.  Fig.  4. — Half  S-trap. 


Fig.  5. — D-trap. 


it,  the  distinguishing  feature  of  all  being  that  the 


DRAINAGE. 


37 


' Fig.  8 is  the  bell-trap,  so  called  from  its  shape. 
Much  used  for  the  drains  of  paved  areas,  yards, 
and  cellars  ; liable  to  retain  dirt,  and  needs  frequent 


cleaning  ; not  a good  trap.  Fig.  9 is  a running- 
trap,  used  in  house-drains  and  other  pipes  that  are 
nearly  horizontal.  Fig.  10  represents  a mason’s 


Fig.  9. — Running-trap. 


T .\  ' \ -T-T'  V,  . r-T^_^r;nn 


— , 

1 1 

[ " 

1 

Fig.  10. — Mason’s  trap. 


trap.  Is  built  of  brick  or  stone  and  cement.  Used 
in  brick-drains  and  sewers,  in  receiving-basins  at 
street  corners,  etc.  Requires  frequent  cleaning,  and 
should  never  be  used  inside  a building.  Fig.  ii 
represents  the  method  of  trapping  a cesspool.  The 
same  plan  is  also  used  for  grease-traps,  the  outlet- 
pipe  dipping  below  the  surface  of  the  contents  so 


38 


SANITAI^Y  INFORMATION, 


that  it  is  never  obstructed  by  the  grease,  which  floats 
on  top. 

A few  patent  traps  are  shown  as  samples  : 


Fig.  II. — Trapped  cess-pool. 


Fig.  12  is  the  Adee  trap,  a modification  of  the  D- 
trap.  Fig.  13  is  the  Bower  trap,  claimed  to  be  se- 
cured against  siphonage  or  back  pressure  by  a rub- 


ber ball  which  floats  up  against  the  entering-pipe. 
Modification  of  the  bottle-trap.  Fig.  14  is  Bedell’s 
trap,  with  a metallic  flap  or  valve,  and  an  opening  on 
the  sewer  side  of  the  valve,  to  relieve  pressure.  Fig. 


DRAINAGE. 


39 


15  is  Stewart’s  trap,  intelligible  from  the  diagram. 
Traps  are  also  made  of  iron  or  glass,  with  a mercury 
seal,  which,  it  is  claimed,  are  proof  against  siphon- 
ing, pressure,  or  evaporation. 


4.  A louvered  sky-light  is  one  with  slats  at  the 
sides  inclining  outward,  so  that  air  can  escape  but 
rain  can  not  enter. 

6.  Calked  with  lead.  (See  26.) 

7.  Tempered-up  cement.  Cement  which  has 
been  used  once,  and  has  been  broken  up  and  ground, 
for  using  a second  time. 

9.  House-drain,  of  iron.  (See  Bad  Odors, 
2,  a.'*) 

10.  Water-closets.  Four  principal  classes, 
with  innumerable  varieties,  mostly  patented. 

I.  The  pan-closet  (Fig.  16).  Its  chief  advan- 
tage is  its  cheapness  and  the  ease  with  which  it  can 
be  repaired.  Its  disadvantage  is  the  odor  that  usu- 
ally attends  its  use.  When  the  handle  {a)  is  raised, 
the  contents  of  the  pan  {b)  are  thrown  against  the 
side  of  the  iron  container  {c),  and  some  filth  adheres 
there  and  decomposes,  filling  the  container  with  a 
noisome  stench,  which  escapes  into  the  room  every 
time  the  closet  is  used.  An  abundant  flush,  an  en- 


40 


SANITAjRY  iatfoj^ma  ttojv. 


ameled  container,  and  proper  ventilation  of  the  con- 
tainer, reduce  this  nuisance  materially.  Generally 
condemned  by  sanitarians. 

2.  Hopper-closets  (Fig.  17).  Rather  unsight- 
ly, because  the  water  and  floating  matter  in  the  trap 


are  visible,  and  matters  often  cling  to  the  sides,  but, 
with  an  abundant  flush  suddenly  discharged,  are  very 
inoffensive. 

3.  Plunger-closets,  of  which  the  Jennings  closet 
(Fig.  18)  may  be  taken  as  a type.  The  handle  lifts  a 
plug,  which  allows  the  contents  of  the  boWl  to  run 
out,  and,  when  the  plug  is  dropped  in  place,  the  bowl 
is  filled  again  from  a ball-cock.  These  closets  are 
liable  to  get  out  of  order  ; the  plungers  or  plugs  lose 
their  rubber  flanges  and  leak,  and  the  plunger-cham- 
ber is  apt  to  retain  filth. 

4.  It  is  evident  that  if  the  hopper-closet  could 
have  its  trap  bent  to  one  side  out  of  sight,  and  its 
hopper  enlarged  toward  the  bottom,  so  that  nothing 
would  strike  and  cling  to  its  sides,  it  would  be  an  ex- 


Fig.  16. — Pan-closet. 


Fig.  17. — Hopper-closet. 


DRAINAGE. 


41 


cellent  one.  Of  such  a type  are  the  Tidal- Wave  and 
National  closets  (Fig.  19),  a being  the  water-pipe, 
which  discharges  into  a flushing  rim,  and  b a vent- 
pipe  to  relieve  pressure  between  the  two  bodies  of 
water  during  a discharge,  and  prevent  siphoning. 


Fig.  19.— Tidal-wave  closet.  Fig.  20.— Y-branch.  Fig.  21.— Quarter  bend. 


A water-closet,  to  be  well  flushed,  should  have  a 
discharge  of  three  gallons  of  water  in  five  seconds, 
sent  directly  downward  all  around  the  rim. 


42 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


School-sink  (also  called  trough-sink  or  privy- 
sink).  An  iron  trough,  having  a sewer-connected 
opening  with  a movable  iron  plug  in  the  bottom  at 
one  end,  for  the  discharge  of  its  contents,  and  a pipe 
at  the  other  end,  from  which  it  is  filled  with  water. 
It  is  practically  an  elongated  water-closet.  (See  53.) 

12.  Y-branch  (Fig.  2o\  so  named  from  its  shape. 
There  are  also  half  Y-branches. 

Eighth  bends.  There  are  also  quarter  bends 
(Fig.  21),  sixth  bends,  and  sixteenth  bends.  These 
are  used  in  pipe-connections  in  order  to  discharge 
the  contents  of  the  branch  pipes  in  the  same  general 
direction  with  the  current  in  the  main  pipes,  for,  if 
the  discharge  enters  at  a right  angle,  a deposit  is  apt 
to  form  opposite  the  point  of  connection. 

14.  Trap  in  house-drain.  Intended  to  cut  off 
all  communication  between  the  house  and  the  street 
sewer.  If  a contagious  disease  occurs  in  one’s  own 
house,  he  can  be  sure  that  the  excreta  are  disinfected, 
and  that  disease-germs  can  not  escape  into  the  air, 
even  if  the  pipes  happen  to  be  defective  ; but  he  can 
not  be  sure  that  such  excreta  are  properly  disinfect- 
ed in  other  houses.  The  only  safe  way,  therefore,  is 
for  each  house  to  be  cut  off  from  all  others  by  the 
means  described.  The  objections  to  the  trap  on  the 
house-drain  are,  that  it  forms  a slight  obstruction  to 
the  flow  of  drainage,  and  is  liable  to  be  obstructed  by 
deposits,  and  that  it  favors  cushioning,”  i.  e.,  the 
forcing  of  smaller  traps,  when  the  air  in  the  drain  is 
compressed  between  this  trap  and  a down-coming 


DRAINAGE, 


43 


mass  of  water.  (See  Bad  Odors/’  i,  d.)  The  first 
of  these  objections  is  met  by  making  the  trap  a 
half  S one,  so  that  the  fluids  fall  down  one  limb  with 
sufficient  force  to  wash  out  the  bottom  of  the  trap 
thoroughly  with  each  discharge,  and  the  second  by 
the  fresh-air  inlet,  which  relieves  the  pressure  that 
otherwise  might  force  the  traps. 

15.  The  fresh-air  inlet  affords  free  entrance  for 
air,  and,  as  the  main  lines  of  pipe  are  open  above  the 
roof,  the  difference  in  length  of  the  pipes  will  give 
rise  to  a constant  current  of  fresh  air  through  them, 
in  one  direction  or  the  other.  (See  ^^Bad  Odors,” 
I,  c,)  This  results  in  the  oxidation  of  whatever  filth 
may  cling  to  the  pipes,  and  dilutes  offensive  gases  so 
that  they  are  rendered  harmless.  It  has  also  been 
shown  that  the  various  microscopic  organisms,  which 
are  believed  to  be  the  specific  cause  of  certain  dis- 
eases, increase  in  virulence,  when  they  propagate  in 
the  absence  or  with  a deficient  supply  of  oxygen, 
while  the  intensity  of  their  action  is  diminished  if*^ 
they  grow  where  oxygen  is  plentiful. 

16.  Ventilation  in  chimney-flues.  (See  ‘‘Bad 
Odors,”  I,  c.) 

17.  Vertical  pipes  of  iron.  Iron  resists  corro- 
sion and  the  assaults  of  rats  better  than  lead,  and 
lead  pipes  are  sometimes  occluded  by  pressure  and 
settling.  Branch  wastes  are  generally  of  lead  be- 
cause it  is  easily  cut  and  bent,  so  as  to  be  used  in 
difficult  situations. 

Return-bend  or  cowl.  To  prevent  senseless 


v*f' 


44 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


persons  from  throwing  things  down  the  pipe,  and 
thus  obstructing  it. 

20.  Diameter  of  pipes.  The  inside  diameter 
is  always  meant. 

21.  D-pipe.  (See  Appendix  B.) 

22.  No  traps  on  vertical  pipes,  i.  e.,  at  the 

foot  of  such  pipes,  because  they  would  prevent  the 
free  circulation  of  air,  and  thus  render  the  fresh-air 
inlet  practically  useless.  Also  to  prevent  cush- 
ioning.'' 

23.  Cast-iron  pipes  are  made  in  five-foot  lengths, 
with  an  enlargement  at  one  end,  called  the  hub  or 

^ bell,  and  a bead  around  the  edge  of  the  other  end 
(the  spigot-end).  The  spigot-end  of  one  pipe  fits 
loosely^into  the  hub  of  another,  sufficient  room  being 
left  Tor  calking.  (See  26.) 

24.  Pipes  are  tarred  by  being  heated  to  500° 
Fahr.  and  then  dipped  perpendicularly  into  a hot 
bath  of  coal-tar  pitch  mixed  with  a small  proportion 

♦ of  heavy  coal-oil.  This  coating  prevents  corrosion, 

I or  at  least  greatly  retards  it. 

J 25.  Wrought-iron  pipes,  with  screw  joints,  are 
used  by  the  Durham  House  Drainage  Company,  the 
joints  being  gas-tight.  They  have  the  advantage  of  be- 
ing very  durable  and  impervious  to  gases,  but  the  dis- 
advantage of  being  too  permanent.  If  it  is  desired 
to  change  the  position  of  a fixture,  or  to  connect  a 
new  one,  it  is  easy  to  break  a hole  in  a cast-iron  pipe, 
or  to  remove  a portion  of  it,  but  where  wrought-iron 
pipe  is  used  this  is  almost  impossible.  The  Durham 


DRAINAGE, 


45 


system  also  costs  about  twenty-five  per  cent  more 
than  the  common  one,  and  it  is  not  strictly  correct 
to  say  that  its  use  renders  a house  absolutely  secure 
against  leakage  of  sewer-air,  because  it  does  not 
do  away  with  lead  branch-pipes,  in  which  frequent 
leakages  occur,  and  all  irregular  portions  of  pipe, 
with  branches,  etc.,  in  this  system  are  made  of  cast- 
iron  with  calked  joints,  as  in  the  ordinary  system. 

The  water-test  is  applied  by  plugging  the  pipe 
carefully,  and  closing  all  openings  below  a certain 
point,  and  then  filling  it  with  water  to  that  level.  If 
there  is  any  leakage,  the  water-level  will  gradually 
sink.  If  the  pipes  are  tight,  it  will  remain  the  same. 

Peppermint-test.  (See  hereafter 

26.  Oakum  is  packed  into  the  the 

spigot-end  of  one  pipe  and  the  hi 
driven  against  the  bead  abov( 
packing  is  called  a gasket, 
in  on  top  of  the  oakum,  and,  wl 
driven  in  tight  with  a calking  iroi 
ordinary  pipe  is  used,  the  calk] 
split  the  hub,  and  this  furnishes 
general  use  of  extra-heavy  pipe. 

Iron-filings,  etc.,  making  what  is 
joint. 

27.  Ferrules,  or  sleeves,  are  used  because  lead 
pipes  are  too  soft  and  yielding  to  withstand  the  calk- 
ing. Lead  can  not  be  soldered  to  iron,  and  therefore 
brass  or  copper  has  to  be  used.  If  iron  ferrules  are 
used,  the  lead  pipe  must  be  turned  up  on  the  outside 


46 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


far  enough  so  that  its  edge  shall  be  covered  by  the 
melted  lead  used  in  calking,  so  as  to  prevent  leakage 
of  gas,  as  hereafter  described.  (See  ‘‘  Bad  Odors,’’ 
h i>-) 

28.  "Wiped-joints  are  those  always  used  for  lead 
pipe,  and  are  indicated  by  a raised  ring  of  solder 
surrounding  the  pipe. 

29.  A trap,  with  a good  water-seal,  is  an  effect- 
ive barrier  against  the  passage  of  sewer- air  or  parti- 
cles of  organic  matter.  The  experiments  of  Carmi- 
chael, confirmed  by  Wemich  and  Pumpelly,  have 
amply  demonstrated  that  sewer-air  passes  through 
the  water-seal  in  such  minute  quantities  that  it  can 
not  possibly  harm  any  one,  and  that  solid  particles 
of  matter  can  not  pass  at  all. 

Separate  traps,  except,  etc.  (See  Bad  Odors,” 

I,  d.) 

33.  Siphonage.  (See  “ Bad  Odors,”  i,  d.) 

37.  Overflow-pipes  from  fixtures.  It  is  better 
to  connect  them  with  the  trap  below  the  water-level. 
(See  “ Bad  Odors,”  i,  d,) 

38.  Safes  are  sheets  of  metal  (generally  lead) 
with  turned-up  edges,  placed  beneath  basins,  sinks, 
water-closets,  etc.,  to  protect  the  floor  in  case  of 
leakage.  The  waste-pipes  of  safes  are  common 
sources  of  nuisance.  (See  ‘‘  Bad  Odors,”  i,  c.) 

39.  To  prevent  contamination  of  the  contents  of 
the  refrigerator. 

41.  When  water-closets  are  flushed  directly  from 
the  common  supply-pipe  of  the  house,  as  in  the  dif- 


DRAINAGE. 


47 


ferent  kinds  of  valve-closets,  the  water  in  the  pipes, 
under  certain  circumstances,  will  be  contaminated  : 
e.  g.,  if  a person  opens  a faucet  on  one  floor  at  the 
same  moment  that  the  valve  is  opened  to  flush  a 
water-closet  on  a higher  floor,  water  will  be  sucked 
back  from  the  valve,  and  the  air  of  the  closet  will 
follow  it.  Check-valves  have  been  used  to  prevent 
this,  but  they  should  not  be  depended  on. 

Various  forms  of  tanks  or  cisterns  for  water- 
closets  are  here  shown.  Fig.  22  represents  a tank, 


b,  which  discharges  water  as  long  as  the  handle  (at- 
tached to  the  chain  a)  is  raised.  It  gives  a flush  also 
of  the  entire  contents  of  the  service-box  c,  after  the 
handle  is  lowered.  Fig.  23  shows  a waste-preventing 
tank,  which  is  divided  into  two  compartments,  b and 
d.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  allows  only  the  contents 
of  d to  be  discharged,'  with  an  after-flush  from  c. 
Fig.  24  shows  a tank,  in  which  the  chain  a is  attached 


48  SANITARY  INFORMATION. 

to  the  seat,  and  is  pulled  down  when  the  seat  is  de- 
pressed. It  wiU  be  seen  that  no  water  can  flow 


while  the  closet  is  in  use,  but,  when  the  seat  is  re- 
leased, the  contents  of  c are  discharged  with  great 


force.  In  all  these  figures,  ^ is  a ball-cocL  This 
cock  is  controlled  by  a hollow  copper  ball,  which 


DRAINAGE, 


49 


floats  on  water,  and  is  attached  to  the  end  of  a lever. 
When  the  water  falls,  the  ball  falls  with  it,  and  opens 
the  cock.  When  it  is  floated  up  to  a certain^  point, 
it  closes  the^cock  and  stops  the  flow. 


45.  Leaders  should  not  be  used  as  soil-pipes, 
because,  during  a rain,  the  ventilation  of  the  pipes 
is  interfered  with  by  the  downward  flow  of  water, 
4 


50 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


which  will  also  empty  unventilated  traps  by  siphon- 
ing. The  necessity  of  having  leaders  open  flush  with 
the  roof  also  interferes  with  proper  ventilation. 

47.  If  steam  enters  a soil-pipe,  it  heats  the  water 
in  the  traps,  injures  joints  on  account  of  the  extreme 
changes  of  temperature  induced,  and  hastens  corro- 
sion of  the  pipes. 

Fig.  25  shows  a system  of  house-drainage  fora 
city  house  planned  in  accordance  with  the  above 
rules. 

In  country  houses,  where  there  are  no  sewers, 
the  best  method  of  disposing  of  the  house-slops  is 
subsoil  drainage.  The  house  system  may  be  the 
same  as  that  already  explained  for  city  housesi.  The 
fluids  are  conducted  by  a pipe  with  tight  joints  to  a 
flush-tank  (Fig.  26)  near  the  house.  This  tank  is 


so  constructed  that  it  empties  itself,  by  a siphon 
action,  whenever  it  gets  full,  discharging  all  its  con- 
tents in  a very  short  time,  and  thus  washing  out 


DRAINAGE. 


51 


thoroughly  the  pipes  into  which  it  empties.  The 
outlet-pipe  from  this  tank  is  continued  by  a cemented 
vitrified  pipe  to  a point  about  twenty-five  feet  farther 
away.  Here  it  connects  with  a system  of  open- 
jointed  drain-tiles,  consisting  of  one  main,  fifty  feet 
long,  and  ten  lateral  drains,  six  feet  apart,  and  each 
about  twenty  feet  long.  These  drains  underlie  a 
part  of  the  lawn,  and  are  only  about  ten  inches  below 
the  surface  ” (Waring).  It  will  be  understood  that 
the  purpose  of  this  method  of  drainage  is  to  have 
the  organic  matter  contained  in  the  house-refuse 
appropriated  by  vegetation,  and  it  must  therefore  be 
distributed  within  reach  of  the  grass-roots. 

If  water-closets  are  used,  the  following  system  is 
recommended  in  ^^The  Sanitary  Engineer’’ : Collect 
all  the  sewage  of  the  house  in  a small  and  perfectly 
tight  tank  or  cesspool,  in  which  the  paper  and  fecal 
matter  soon  become  macerated  by  fermentation  and 
reduced  to  a pulp.  This  tank  should  overflow  into 
the  flush-tank,  the  overflow-pipe  dipping  at  least  a 
foot  below  the  point  of  discharge,  to  avoid  the  scum. 
The  siphon  of  the  flush-tank  should  be  accessible 
by  a man-hole,  so  as  to  be  readily  cleaned.  If  thus 
arranged,  and  if  no  roots  of  trees  are  in  the  soil,  the 
distribution-pipes  will  not  clog  for  a year  or  more, 
sometimes  not  for  ten  years. 

Pipes  should  be  laid  at  a depth  of  eight  inches, 
with  a slight  and  uniform  descent  of  not  over  six  or 
eight  inches  in  one  hundred  feet.  Branches  from 
a four-inch  main  to  the  two-inch  distribution-pipes 


52 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


should  lead  from  the  bottom  of  the  former,  instead 
of  from  the  side,  as  in  ordinary  drain  connections. 

There  should  be  a grease-trap  (see  Explanatory 
Remarks,"'  3)  attached  to  the  kitchen  waste-pipes, 
in  order  to  prevent  clogging  of  the  tanks  and  pipes 
by  the  congelation  of  fat. 

Bad  Odors. 

When  bad  odors  in  a house  are  traceable 
to  the  drainage,  they  will  usually  be  found 
to  be  due  to  one  or  more  of  the  following 
causes : 

I.  To  faulty  construction,  {a.)  Drains. — 
' These  may  be  made  of  brick  or  stone  and  cement. 
Such  materials  are  pervious  to  gases,  even  when 
sound,  and  are  peculiarly  liable  to  be  channeled  by 
rats,  especially  where  an  iron  or  lead  pipe  enters 
them.  Such  a drain  should  be  replaced  by  an  iron 
one. 

{b.)  Joints.-^Cement-joints  are  pervious  to 
gases.  Putty-joints  crack  and  so  become  pervious. 
A lead  pipe  is  sometimes  connected  with  an  iron 
one  by  means  of  an  iron  ferrule,  the  lead  pipe  pass- 
ing inside  the  ferrule  and  being  turned  over  its  lower 
edge,  extending  up  on  the  outside,  the  ferrule  then 
being  calked  into  the  hub.  When  paper  is  used  for 
the  gasket  or  packing,  it  rots  away  in  time,  and  a 
passage  is  left  through  which  gas  can  escape  as  fol- 
lows : up  between  the  hub  and  the  turned-over  lead 
pipe,  over  its  edge,  between  it  and  the  calking,  down  . 


DIZAIN  AGE. 


53 


between  the  lead  pipe  and  the  ferrule,  across  the 
lower  edge  of  the  ferrule,  and  out  between  the  inner 
surface  of  the  ferrule  and  the  outer 
surface  of  the  lead  pipe.  (See  Fig. 

27.)  Sometimes  a connection  of  lead 
with  iron  is  made  by  means  of  a lead 
flange  fastened  around  the  iron  pipe 
with  wire,  and  sometimes  the  lead 
pipe  is  simply  stuck  into  a hole  in  the 
iron  pipe  and  fastened  with  cement  ^ ^ 

Fig.  27.  — Iron  fer 

or  putty.  Such  work  should  be  re-  rule  improperly 

Ml-  ^ CaXICwCI# 

placed  by  properly  made  joints  as 

described  in  the  above  regulations.  (Or  in  Bad 

Odors,*'  2,  c.) 

{c.)  Pipes. — If  the  leaders  are  not  trapped  at 
the  bottom,  offensive  gases  from  them  may  enter  the 
nearest  windows.  . A leader  is  never  of  the  same 
length  as  the  soil-pipe,  and,  if  there  is  direct  com- 
munication between  them  through  the  house-drain, 
there  will  always  be  a current  of  air  through  them  in 
one  direction  or  the  other.  If  the  external  air  is 
colder  than  that  inside  the  pipes,  then  the  heavier 
column  of  air  will  be  over  the  shorter  pipe,  and  the 
current  will  be  down  that  one  and  up  the  other.  If 
the  external  air  is  warmer  than  that  in  the  pipes,  the 
heavier  column  will  be  that  which  includes  the  longer 
pipe,  and  the  current  will  be  down  that  one  and  up 
the  shorter.  So,  as  a rule,  the  current  in  winter  is 
down  the  short  pipe  and  up  the  long  one,  while  in 
summer  it  is  reversed,  and,  as  the  short  pipe  often 


54 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


ends  near  windows,  the  nuisance  is  greatest  when 
these  windows  are  open.  Of  course,  in  such  cases, 
the  leader  must  be  trapped. 

Ventilating-pipes  sometimes  end  in  chimney- 
flues.  This  is  a bad  plan,  for,  if  the  flue  is  in  use, 
the  open  end  of  the  pipe  will  become  choked  with 
soot  and  finally  be  rendered  useless.  If  the  flue  is 
not  used,  there  will  often  be  a down  draught  in  it, 
and  the  offensive  gases  may  be  conveyed  through 
stove-pipes  or  fireplaces  into  the  rooms  of  the  house. 
Such  gases  may  even  penetrate  the  walls  of  the  flue 
and  so  enter  the  house.  If  such  a pipe  is  ever  run 
into  a flue,  it  should  be  extended  at  least  two  feet 
above  the  chimney-top. 

Ventilating-pipes  are  sometimes  badly  arranged, 
so  that  they  actually  neutralize  a trap  and  render  it 
useless.  (See  Fig.  28.)  In  this  figure  a is  the  soil- 
pipe  and  b the  ventilating-pipe. 

Safe-wastes  and  the  overflow-pipes  of  tanks 
and  cisterns  may  be  connected  with  the  soil  or  waste 
pipe.  When  they  are,  they  are  usually  trapped.  It 
will  often  be  • found  that  the  traps  are  empty  and 
useless,  so  that  offensive  gases  escape  from  the  pipes. 
With  tank-overflow  pipes  this  is  generally  the  case. 
Safe- waste  traps  are  sometimes  provided  with  small 
feed-pipes,  intended  to  discharge  water  into  them 
every  time  the  fixtures  are  used.  It  will  often  be 
found,  however,  if  the  end  of  the  feed-pipe  is  pulled 
up  out  of  the  waste,  that  no  water  runs  through  it, 
and  it  is  useless,  sometimes  because  it  is  too  small 


DRAINAGE. 


55 


and  is  choked  with  dust  and  sediment,  and  some- 
times because  it  is  wrongly  attached  to  the  source  of 
supply.  Safe-wastes,  discharging  into  the  kitchen  or 
cellar,  may  convey  to  the  rooms  odors  of  cooking  or 


of  articles  stored  in  the  cellar  (onions,  turnips,  etc.), 
or  from  the  servants’  water-closet,  which  is  often 
offensive.  If  urine  or  other  offensive  liquids  from 
leakage  flow  through  them,  the  upward  currents  of 
air  will  be  impregnated  with  odors  from  the  filth  that 
has  clung  to  the  pipe  long  after  the  leak  has  been 
repaired.  In  any  event  these  safe-wastes  constitute 
a direct  communication  between  different  rooms  of 
a house,  which  is  not  always  desirable.  It  is  better 
to  do  without  them.  They  are  rarely  of  any  use?  If 


Fig.  28. — Faulty  arrangement  of  ventilating  pipes. 


56 


SANITAjRY  informa  tiojv. 


required,  however,  they  should  either  be  trapped 
under  the  safe,  and  means  taken  to  insure  a constant 
water-seal,  or  they  may  be  closed  by  a piece  of  paper 
pasted  over  the  lower  opening,  which  will  prevent 
the  entrance  of  any  odors  from  cellar  or  kitchen,  but 
will  give  way  in  case  of  leakage.  The  safe-wastes  of 
water-closets  often  discharge  into  the  trap  of  the 
water-closet.  This  is  a bad  plan,  because,  if  there 
is  an  obstruction  in  the  trap,  the  safe-waste  is,  of 
course,  useless.  If  offensive  odors  are  traced  to 
safe-wastes,  the  openings  had  better  be  sealed.  If 
overflow-pipes  are  the  source,  they  must  be  discon- 
nected from  the  soil  or  waste  pipe  and  made  to  dis- 
charge elsewhere  (e.  g.,  into  some  sink  or  water- 
closet). 

(r/.)  Traps  . — If  two  traps  are  so  arranged  that 
the  air  is  compressed  between  them  by  an  oncoming 
rush  of  water,  the  trap  containing  the  shallowest  wa- 
ter-seal will  be  forced,  and  a certain  amount  of  air 
will  escape  through  it  from  the  interior  of  the  pipe. 


This  result  is  due  to  “ cushioning,’'  as  it  is  called, 
and  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  29.  Such  a fault  is  to  be 
remedied  by  connecting  the  crown  of  one  of  the 


Fig.  29, — Cushioning  illustrated. 


DRAINAGE. 


57 


traps  with  a ventilating-pipe,  so  that  any  pressure  of 
the  kind  is  immediately  relieved  without  disturbing 
the  seal  of  the  trap. 

If  there  are  two  traps  on  the  same  line  of  pipe 
(Fig.  30),  so  that  a part  of  the  interior  of  the  pipe  is 
cut  off  from  the  external  air  in  both  directions,  it 
becomes  ‘‘air-bound,’*  and  one  of  two  results  will 
follow,  viz.  : water  discharged  into  the  fixture  above 
the  higher  trap  will  remain  in  the  bowl  and  not  run 
down,  on  account  of  the  compression  of  air  between 


Fig,  30. — Double-trapped  waste-pipe  Fig.  31. — Two  sinks  with  but 

(air-bound).  one  trap. 

the  traps  ; or,  if  it  does  run  out  of  the  fixture,  it  will 
displace  an  equivalent  bulk  of  foul  air,  which  will 
bubble  up  through  the  upper  trap  and  cause  offen- 


S8 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


sive  odors.  In  such  a case,  the  lower  trap  should 
be  removed. 

If  two  or  more  waste-pipes  (as  in  sets  of  tubs, 
in  sinks,  and  often  in  urinals)  are  provided  with  but 
one  trap  for  all  (Fig.  31),  there  will  be  a constant 
current  of  air  along  the  pipes,  sometimes  emerging 
from  one  opening  and  sometimes  from  another. 
This  air  will  be  contaminated  by  the  filth  that  lines 
the  pipes,  and  will  often  be  quite  offensive.  In  such 
cases,  each  waste  - pipe  should  be  independently 
trapped,  or  (as  in  the  case  of  bath-tubs  or  urinals) 
the  overflow -pipe  should  be  connected  with  the 
trap  of  the  waste-pipe  below  the  water-seal,  as  in 
Fig.  25. 

When  a body  of  water  sufficiently  large  to  nearly 
fill  a pipe  is  discharged  into  it,  it  drags  air  along 
with  it,  and  exhausts  the  air  in  all  branch-pipes  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.  When  this  exhaustion  amounts 
to  a diminution  of  the  pressure  in  the  pipe  of  about 
3^,  the  water  in  an  ordinary  trap  (with  a one-inch 
seal)  will  be  forced  out  of  it  by  the  pressure  of  the 
external  atmosphere,  or  in  other  words  will  be  sucked 
out  of  the  trap  into  the  pipe,  leaving  no  water-seal 
in  the  trap,  and,  therefore,  allowing  free  exit  for 
sewer-air.  This  effect  is  known  as  the  “siphon- 
ing of  the  trap,  and  is  most  likely  to  occur  when 
the  main  pipe  is  not  open  at  its  upper  extremity  (is 
not  ventilated),  and  when  the  branch  w’astes  are  of 
the  same  size  with  the  main  one.  This  fault  is  reme- 
died by  the  ventilation  of  the  traps,  and  of  the  main 


DRAINAGE, 


59 

pipes,  as  described  in  the  regulations  above  quoted 
(17  and  33). 

•2.  To  defects  in  the  pipes,  (a.)  Drains. — 
Bad  odors  in  cellars  often  come  from  broken  earth- 
enware or  tile  drains,  cracked  by  settling,  or  from 
rat-holes  in  cemented  drains.  Earthenware  or  brick 
drains  inside  a house  should  be  replaced  by  iron 
ones. 

(^.)  Joints. — Cement  or  putty  joints  are  often 
cracked.  Water-closets  sometimes  become  loos- 
ened from  the  floor  and  leak  fluids  and  gases.  The 
covers  of  hand-holes  of  traps  sometimes  get  loose 
and  leak  gas.  Sometimes  trap-SCrews,  instead  of 
being  at  the  bottom  of  the  trap,  where  they  are  cov- 
ered by  water,  are  at  the  top ; if  these  are  loose, 
gases  may  escape.  All  such  defects  should  be  re- 
paired. 

(<r.)  Pipes  . — Both  lead  and  iron  pipes  are  cor- 
roded and  in  time  perforated  by  sewer-air.  Such 
corrosion  is  most  likely  to  occur  at  points  where 
gases  come  in  contact  with  a dry  part  of  the  pipe, 
viz.,  at  the  crowns  or  domes  of  traps,  and  in  ventilat- 
ing-pipes.  For  this  reason,  ventilating-pipes  should 
never  be  made  of  thin  iron  (galvanized  iron),  and 
should  always  be  protected  by  a tar-coating.  The 
crowns  of  lead  traps  (especially  of  water-closets)  are 
often  bitten  into  by  rats  in  search  of  water.  In  all 
cases  when  the  crown  of  a trap  is  perforated,  there 
is  rarely  any  leakage  of  fluid  to  indicate  it,  but  offen- 
sive gases  escape.  All  corroded  traps  and  pipes 


6o 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION. 


should  be  replaced  by  new  ones,  and  not  patched  up. 
Holes  in  iron  pipes  may  be  closed  by  iron  bands 
surrounding  the  pipe,  and  fastened  with  red-lead 
putty  and  screw-bolts  (Fig.  32).  A new  joint  may 
be  made  by  means  of  a saddle-hub  (Fig.  33)  care- 


Fig.  32.— Bands.  Fig.  33.— Saddle-hub, 

fully  secured  in  a similar  manner.  Lead  pipes  are 
sometimes  protected  against  rats  by  being  encircled 
by  tin,  or  packed  in  pounded  glass. 

3.  To  carelessness,  {a.)  Evaporation. — If 
fixtures  are  not  in  constant  use,  the  water  soon 
evaporates  from  the  traps  and  gives  exit  to  sewer- 
air.  This  often  happens  in  warm  weather,  and 
when  a house  is  vacant  for  a time.  To  prevent 
evaporation,  a little  oil  may  be  poured  into  the  trap, 
to  protect  the  surface  of  the  water-seal,  or  it  may  be 
made  the  special  duty  of  a servant  to  keep  the  traps 
full  of  water  when  the  fixtures  are  not  in  use. 

(^.)  Dirt. — The  inside  of  a pipe  often  becomes 
coated  with  slime,  consisting  largely  of  grease,  espe- 
cially in  kitchens.  This  filthy  lining  rapidly  decom- 
poses, and  that  portion  above  the  trap  may  give  out 
bad  odors.  The  pipes  may  be  cleansed  with  a strong 
hot  solution  of  soda. 


DRAIIVAGE. 


6i 


Examination  of  House- Drainage, 

If  the  object  of  an  examination  is  to  determine 
whether  the  drainage  is  planned  and  constructed  in 
accordance  with  the  best  methods  of  the  day,  each 
point  referred  to  in  the  above  regulations  should  be 
carefully  investigated. 

If  the  object  is  to  determine  the  source  of  offen- 
sive odors,  or  if  there  has  been  sickness  in  the  house 
of  such  a character  as  to  indicate  possible  defects  in 
the  plumbing,  the  several  sources  of  bad  odors  just 
enumerated  should  each  be  carefully  inquired  into. 
A few  additional  suggestions  as  to  the  method  of  ex- 
amination will  not  be  out  of  place. 

It  will  be  found  much  easier  to  determine  the 
direction,  number,  and  situation  of  the  main  lines  of 
pipe,  if  the  examination  is  begun  at  the  roof  and 
continued  downward.  If  a beginning  is  made  in  the 
cellar,  confusion  results. 

“ Cushioning  is  determined  by  causing  the 
discharge  of  a considerable  mass  of  water  (as  from  a 
bath-tub  or  water-closet)  into  the  main  pipe,  at  some 
distance  above  the  suspected  fixture.  If  there  is  a 
regurgitation  in  the  fixture  under  observation,  there 
is  certainly  an  obstruction  in  the  pipe  at  some  point 
below  the  fixture.*  If  the  obstruction  is  caused  by 
something  lodged  in  the  pipe,  the  back-flow  in  the 
fixture  will  be  a steady  one,  because  there  will  be 
some  leakage  through  the  obstruction,  while  if  it  is 
due  to  compressed  air,  which  is  elastic,  the  regurgi- 


62  SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION. 

tation  will  be  by  spurts,  and  the  water  in  the  trap 
may  even  be  thrown  up  to  a considerable  height. 

Siphonings  ’’  is  also  determined  by  filling  the 
pipe  with  water  in  the  manner  just  explained.  If 
the  trap  of  the  fixture  under  observation  is  emptied 
by  siphoning,  a sucking  or  gurgling  noise  will  be 
heard  in  it,  and  a flame  held  over  the  outlet  of  the 
fixture  will  be  drawn  downward  by  the  inward  cur- 
rent of  air. 

One  trap  to  several  pipes  (when  it  is  sus- 
pected but  not  certainly  known  because  the  trap  is 
out  of  sight)  may  be  detected  by  the  fact  that  there 
will  always  be  a current  of  air  in  one  direction  or 
the  other  through  such  pipes,  and  more  or  less  odor 
will  escape.  If  the  back  of  the  hand  is  wet,  it  be- 
comes very  sensitive  to  such  a current,  and  by  hold- 
ing alternately  the  palm  and  the  back  of  the  hand, 
or  even  of  the  forefinger  (wet),  over  an  opening,  the 
existence  and  direction  of  such  a current  can  be 
easily  determined.  If  the  odors  are  from  such  a 
source,  it  can  then  be  made  evident  by  covering  all 
the  outlets  but  one  with  wet  paper,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  air-currents,  when  the  odors  will  temporarily  dis- 
appear. 

If  a trap  is  accessible,  it  is  easy  to  determine 
whether  its  water-seal  is  preserved  or  not  by  tapping 
it  from  top  to  bottom  with  some  metallic  substance, 
when  the  difference  in  sound  will  indicate  the  exact 
level  of  the  water  inside. 

Those  parts  of  the  plumbing  which  are  not  ac- 


DRAINAGE. 


63 


cessible  to  inspection  must  be  examined  by  intro- 
ducing into  the  pipes  some  strong-smelling  sub- 
stance, which  will  indicate  defects  by  its  escape 
through  them  into  the  house.  Oil  of  peppermint 
is  often  used  for  this  purpose. 

The  Peppermint-Test. 

For  testing  the  pipes  of  an  ordinary  dwelling, 
one  ounce  of  the  oil  of  peppermint  is  sufficient. 
For  a large  building  more  may  be  needed.  The 
drug  costs  from  twenty-five  to  seventy-five  cents  an 
ounce,  according  to  its  quality  and  the  place  where 
it  is  bought. 

It  is  best  to  introduce  the  oil  into  the  pipes  from 
outside  the  house,  if  possible,  so  that  the  odor  which 
inevitably  attends  the  process  may  be  dissipated  in 
the  external  air.  The  object  being  to  ascertain  the 
location  of  defects  in  the  pipes  inside  the  house,  the 
examiner  must  feel  certain,  if  he  detects  the  odor  of 
peppermint  anywhere,  that  the  vapor  has  come  to  him 
from  inside  the  pipes,  and  not  from  the  outside.  If 
• the  ventilating-pipes  are  so  constructed  that  the  oil 
can  not  be  poured  in  from  the  roof,  then  it  must  be 
poured  into  some  basin  or  water-closet  in  the  upper 
portion  of  the  house.  The  peppermint  should  first 
be  mingled  with  a pailful  of  hot  water  to  promote 
rapid  volatilization,  and  poured  slowly  down  the  pipe. 
After  it  is  poured  down,  the  openings  at  the  upper 
extremities  of  the  pipes  should  be  closed,  so  that  the 
pressure  of  the  vapor  inside  the  pipes  may  not  be 


64 


SAATITAJiY  INFORMATION. 


relieved  in  that  direction.  If  the  odor  of  peppermint, 
thus  introduced  with  the  pecautions  mentioned  be- 
low, is  perceived  anywhere  in  the  house,  it  is  an  in- 
dication that  there  is  an  opening  in  some  pipe, 
through  which  sewer-air  may  escape.  This  opening 
may  be  a defect,  or  it  may  be  due  to  siphoning  of 
traps,  or  to  faults  of  original  construction.  There 
will  not  usually  be  much  difficulty  in  locating  it 
with  considerable  exactness. 

Special  Precautions, 

The  peppermint  should  be  kept  on  the  roof,  or 
on  a window-sill  outside  the  house,  until  needed,  for 
it  is  so  volatile  that  the  vapor  escapes  through  the 
cork,  and  if  the  odor  gets  into  the  house  in  this  way, 
it  will  vitiate  the  examination. 

The  person  who  pours  the  peppermint  should  re- 
main on  the  roof  or  in  the  room  where  he  does  it, 
with  the  doors  closed,  until  the  examination  is  com- 
plete, for  the  odor  will  cling  to  his  clothing  and  fol- 
low him  wherever  he  goes  for  an  hour  or  more. 

Additional  Remarks, 

If  bad  odors  have  been  noticed,  and  no  defect 
can  be  found  in  the  ways  above  mentioned,  they  may 
be  due  to  decaying  animal  matter  (dead  rats,  etc.), 
or  (in  the  city)  to  defects  in  the  plumbing  of  the  ad- 
joining house,  offensive  gases  from  which  may  pene- 
trate the  wall. 

The  source  of  bad  odors  need  not  necessarily  be 


65 


, DRAINAGE.  . 

in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  place,  where  they 
are  noticed,  for  the  walls  of  buildings  are  full  of 
channels  and  openings,  through  which  offensive 
gases  may  be  carried  by  currents  of  air,  so  as  to 
emerge  at  a considerable  distance  from  their  origin. 
Thus,  in  winter,  they  are  apt  to  be  most  noticeable 
near  a fire.  ‘ , 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  BEST  METHODS  OF  DRAINAGE. 

For  houses  where  there  are  public  sewers: 
water-carriage. 

For  country  houses,  if  isolated  from  sewers, 

and  where  expense  is  no  objection  : water-carriage 
with  subsoil  drainage. 

In  villages  and  small  towns,  without  sewers : 

subsoil  drainage  (for  slops),  and  pails  (for  excreta), 
frequently  removed  by  proper  officers. 

For  farm-houses : subsoil  drainage  for  slops, 
and  a movable  tank,  with  dry  earth  disinfection,  for 
excreta. 

For  sea-side  houses,  isolated : if  there  is 
vegetation,  subsoil  drainage  for  slops,  and  earth- 
closets.  . . ; 

For  sea-side  villages  : subsoil  drainage  and 
the  pail  system. 

For  sea-side  houses,  where  there  is  no  vege- 
tation : for  excreta,  earth-closets  or  a movable 
iron  tank,  with  dry-earth  disinfection  ; for  slops,  a 
water-tight  cesspool,  with  arrangements  for  empty- 
ing its  contents  into  the  sea  when  the  tide  is  ebbing. 


66 


SANITAR  Y IJYFORMA  TION, 


How  to  prevent  contamination  of  the  air 
from  the  ground. 

Have  the  house  separated  from  the  soil  on  which 
it  is  built  by  a layer  of  asphalt  between  two  layers 
of  cement,  extending  over  the  whole  cellar-floor, 
through  the  foundation- walls  and  up  above  the  point 
where  the  ground  touches  the  walls  outside.  Or 
have  the  house  built  without  a cellar,  and  with  per- 
forated underpinning,  so  as  to  allow  a free  circula- 
tion of  air  underneath  it.  The  subsoil  should  also 
be  drained  by  tiles  laid  at  least  a foot  lower  than  the 
cellar-bottom. 

The  cold-air  boxes  of  furnaces  should  draw  their 
supply  from  the  external  air.  It  is  advisable  to  have 
a thin  layer  of  cotton  held  in  place  by  wire  gauze  to 
filter  the  air  as  it  enters  them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DISINFECTION. 

How  to  prevent  contamination  of  the  air 
by  the  respiration,  bodily  emanations,  and 
excreta  of  diseased  persons. 

It  is  not  possible  with  our  present  knowledge  to 
prevent  the  multiplication  of  morbid  germs  in  the 
human  body,  when  they  are  once  implanted  there, 
nor  to  prevent  their  discharge ; but  we  can  destroy 
them  after  their  exit  from  the  body,  and  so  protect 
other  persons  who  are  not  yet  affected. 


DISINFECTION, 


67 


The  following  instructions  for  the  management 
of  contagious  diseases  were  prepared  for  the  Na- 
tional Board  of  Health  by  Professors  C.  F.  Chandler, 
Henry  Draper,  G.  F.  Barker,  S.  O.  Vander  Poel,  E. 
G.  Janeway,  and  Ira  Remsen. 

Instructions  for  Disinfection, 

Disinfection  is  the  destruction  of  the  poisons  of 
infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 

Deodorizers,  or  substances  which  destroy  smells, 
are  not  necessarily  disinfectants,  and  disinfectants 
do  not  necessarily  have  an  odor. 

Disinfection  can  not  compensate  for  want.^of 
cleanliness  nor  of  ventilation. 

I.  Disinfectants  to  he  employed, 

1.  Roll-sulphur  (brimstone)  for  fumigation. 

2.  Sulphate  of  iron  (copperas)  dissolved  in  water 
in  the  proportion  of  one  and  a half  pounds  to  the 
gallon  ; for  soil,  sewers,  etc. 

3.  Sulphate  of  zinc  and  common  salt,  dissolved 
together  in  water  in  the  proportion  of  four  ounces 
sulphate  and  two  ounces  salt  to  the  gallon ; for 
clothing,  bed-linen,  etc.  . 

II.  How  to  use  Disinfectants, 

I.  In  the  sick-room.  The  most  available  agents 
are  fresh  air  and  cleanliness.  The  clothing,  towels, 
bed-linen,  etc.,  should  on  removal  from  the  patient. 


68 


SANITATE  Y INFORMA  TJON. 


and  before  they  are  taken  from  the  room,  be  placed 
in  a pail  or  tub  of  the  zinc  solution,  boiling-hot  if 
possible. 

All  discharges  should  either  be  received  in  ves- 
sels containing  copperas  solution,  or,  when  this  is 
impracticable,  should  be  immediately  covered  with 
copperas  solution.  All  vessels  used  about  the  pa- 
tient should  be  cleansed  with  the  same  solution. 

Unnecessary  furniture,  especially  that  which  is 
stuffed,  carpets  and  hangings,  should,  when  possible, 
be  removed  from  the  room  at  the  outset ; otherwise 
they  should  remain  for  subsequent  fumigation  and 
treatment. 

2.  Fumigation  with  sulphur  is  the  only  practi- 
'cable  method  for  disinfecting  the  house.  For  this 

purpose,  the  rooms  to  be  disinfected  must  be  va- 
cated. Heavy  clothing,  blankets,  bedding,  and  other 
articles  which  can  not  be  treated  with  zinc  solution, 
should  be  opened  and  exposed  during  fumigation,  as 
directed  below.  ' Close  the  rooms  as  tightly  as  possi- 
ble, place  the  sulphur  in  iron  pans  supported  upon 
bricks  placed  in  wash-tubs  containing  a little  water, 
sqt  it  pn  fire  by  hot  coals  or  with  the  aid  of  a spoon- 
ful oTaJcohol,  and  allow  the  room  to  remain  closed 
for  twenty-four  hours.  For  a room  about  ten  feet 
square,  at  least  two  pounds  of  sulphur  should  be 
used ; for  larger  rooms,  proportionally  increased 
quantities. 

3.  Premises.  Cellars,  yards,  stables,  gutters, 
privies,  cesspools,  water-closets,  drains,  sewers,  etc., 


DISINFECTION. 


69 


should  be  frequently  and  liberally  treated  with  cop- 
peras solution.  The  copperas  solution  is  easily  pre- 
pared by  hanging  a basket  containing  about  sixty 
pounds  of  copperas  in  a barrel  of  water. 

4.  Body  and  bed*  clothing,  etc.  It  is  best  to 
burn  all  articles  which  have  been  in  contact  with 
persons  sick  with  contagious  or  infectious  diseases. 
Articles  too  valuable  to  be  destroyed  should  be 
treated  as  follows 

{a.)  Cotton;  linen,  flannels,  blankets,  etc.,  should 
be  treated  with  the  boiling-hot  zinc  solution  ; intro- 
duce piece  by  piece,  secure  thorough  wetting,  and 
boil  for  at  least  half  an  hour. 

(3.)  Heavy  woolen  clothing,  silkj 
bed-covers,  beds,  and  other  article|^hich^can 
be  treated  with  the  zinc  solution,  s] 
the  room  during  fumigation,  their 
ly  exposed  and  pockets  turned  11 
ward  they  should  be  hung  in  th< 
and  shaken.  Pillows,  beds,  stuff( 
bolstered  furniture,  etc.,  should 
contents  spread  out  and  thoroughly 
pets  are  best  fumigated  on  the  floor, 
terward  be  removed  to  the  open  air  and  thoroughly 
beaten. 

5.  Corpses  especially  of  persons  that  have  died 
of  any  infectious  or  malignant  disease,  should  be 
thoroughly  washed  with  a zinc  solution  of  double 
strength  ; should  then  be  wrapped  in  a sheet,  wet 
with  the  zinc  solution,  and  buried  at  once. 


70  SANITAI^Y  INFOJ^MA  TIOAT. 

Metallic,  metal-lined,  or  air-tight  coffins  should 
be  used  when  possible  ; certainly  when  the  body  is 
to  be  transported  for  any  considerable  distance. 

Comments, 

Section  I.  i.  Copperas,  also  called  green  vitriol. 

2.  About  four  tablespoonfuls  of  the  zinc  and  two 
tablespoon fuls  of  the  salt,  making  a solution  of  the 
chloride  of  zinc. 

Section  II.  i.  The  windows  should  be  kept 
open,  if  possible,  but  in  such  a way  as  to  avoid 
draughts  on  the  bed.  A fire  should  be  constantly 
burning  in  an  open  fireplace. 

The  room  should  be  on  the  top  floor,  and  all 
cracks  and  openings  communicating  with  other 
rooms  should  be  closed  tightly.  The  door  which 
has  to  be  used  should  have  a wet  sheet  hanging  en- 
tirely over  it,  the  windows  and  fireplace  being  alone 
relied  on  for  ventilation. 

2.  The  burning  of  sulphur  produces  sulphurous 
acid,  which  is  an  irrespirable  gas.  The  person  who 
lights  the  sulphur  must,  therefore,  immediately  leave 
the  room,  and  after  the  lapse  of  the  proper  time, 
must  hold  his  breath  as  he  enters  the  room  to  open 
the  windows  and  let  out  the  gas.  After  fumigation, 
plastered  walls  should  be  whitewashed,  the  wood- 
work well  scrubbed  with  carbolic  soap,  and  painted 
portions  repainted. 

3.  Or  put  copperas  in  a pail  of  water,  in  such 
quantity  that  some  may  constantly  remain  undis- 


DISINFECTION. 


71 


solved  at  the  bottom.  This  makes  a saturated  solu- 
tion. To  every  privy  or  water-closet,  allow  one  pint 
of  the  solution  for  every  four  persons  when  cholera 
is  about.  To  keep  privies  from  being  offensive,  pour 
one  pint  into  each  seat,  night  and  morning. 

4.  {a.)  Such  articles  should  never  be  sent  to  a 
public  laundry  or  mingled  with  the  family  washing. 

{F)  The  cutting  open  of  stuffed  articles  may 
seem  unnecessary,  but  it  is  not.  The  poison  of  con- 
tagious diseases  clings  to  such  stuffs  (called  fomites) 
with  great  tenacity  for  years,  and  must  be  destroyed 
before  they  are  fit  to  be  used  again. 

5.  It  is  also  well  to  fill  a large  wad  of  cotton 
or  fine  shavings  with  coal-tar  powder  or  chloride 
of  lime  and  place  it  beneath  the  hips,  to  absorb 
fluids. 

Contagious  diseases  are  often  caught  at  the  fu- 
nerals of  those  who  have  died  of  them,  and  the  sani- 
tary code  of  New  York  city  forbids  a public  funeral 
of  any  person  who  has  died  of  small-pox,  diphtheria, 
scarlet  fever,  yellow  fever,  typhus  fever,  or  Asiatic 
cholera.  It  is  better  to  limit  the  attendance  at  such 
funerals  to  as  few  as  possible. 

Additional  Precautions  in  Special  Diseases. 

Small-pox. — Every  one  in  the  vicinity  should 
be  vaccinated  with  fresh  virus.  Every  person  should 
be  vaccinated  in  infancy,  again  after  puberty,  and 
again  within  four  days  after  exposure  to  small-pox. 
Special  care  shguld  be  paid  tg  isolation.  Inmates 


72 


SANITAJRY  INFORMA  TIOJY, 


of  the  house  should  neither  make  nor  receive  visits 
while  the  patient  is  sick. 

Diphtheria  and  Consumption.— Special  care 
should  be  taken  to  avoid  inhaling  the  breath  of  the 
patient,  as  the  diseases  are  communicated  through 
the  secretions  of  the  nose,  throat,  and  lungs.  The 
matter  coughed  up  should  be  received  on  rags  and 
immediately  burned.  ' 

Scarlet  Fever  and  Measles. — These  are  com- 
municable during  convalescence,  as  well  as  during 
the  illness.  The  body  of  the  patient  should  be 
anointed  twice  a day  with  sweet-oil,  lard,  or  vaseline, 
containing  ten  grains  of  carbolic  acid  or  thymol  to 
the  ounce.  This  should  be  continued  until  all  bran- 
. like  scaling  of  the  skin  is  at  an  end.  Before  again 
associating  with  unprotected  persons,  the  patient 
should  have  several  complete  ablutions,  including 
thorough  washing  of  the  hair  with  soap  or  borax ; 
and  none  of  the  clothing  wora  for  several  days  be- 
fore the  disease  declared  itself  should  be  again  used 
until  thoroughly  disinfected,  and  ventilated  in  the 
open  air  several  days  (New  York  State  Board  of 
Health  circular). 

Typhoid  Fever,  Asiatic  Cholera,  and  Dys- 
entery.— Poison  contained  in  discharges  from  the 
bowels.  Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
disinfection  of . such  discharges  by  the  zinc  or  cop- 
peras solution. 

^ Yellow  Fever. — Poison  possibly  contained  in 
discharges  from  stoniach  and  bowels,  but  requiring 


FOOD*  7^ 

Special  conditions  for  development  outside  the  body 
before  it  can  affect  other  persons.  Excreta  should 
be  immediately  disinfected.  Germs  may  be  carried 
long  distances  in  fomites  (clothing,  bedding,  and 
other  porous  substances),  and  disinfection  of  such 
articles  must  be  very  thorough. 

Typhus  Fever. — No  visiting  to  be  allowed. 

When  there  is  small-pox,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever, 
measles,  or  typhus  fever  in  a house,  immediate  at- 
tendants on  the  sick  should  not  leave  the  house 
without  a change  of  outside  clothing. 

General  Precautions  for  those  entering  a Sick-Room. 

Never  enter  a sick-room,  with  an  empty  stomach, 
or  when  very  tired. 

Never  eat  or  drink  anything  that  has  been  long 
exposed  to  the  air  of  the  sick-room. 

Breathe  through  your  nose,  and  keep  your  mouth 
shut  except  when  you  are  talking. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FOOD. 

< 

How  to  distinguish  a good  article  of  food  from 
a bad  one,  when  both  are  in  their  natural  state,  is 
within  the  province  of  the  cook-book.  In  this  place 
will  be  pointed  out  only  the  adulterations  of  food, 
and  those  methods  of  detecting  them  which  can  be 


74 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


used  by  householders  who  have  no  special  knowledge 
of  the  instrumental  and  chemical  means  which  are 
generally  necessary. 

Adulterations  are  of  two  kinds  : those  which  in- 
jure the  consumer,  and  those  which  simply  cheat 
him.  The  following  details  are  chiefly  taken  from 
the  New  York  State  Board  of  Health  report  for 
i88i~*82,  the  name  of  the  analyst  being  in  each  case 
appended. 

Arrowroot. — Often  mixed  with  cheaper  starches. 
Twenty- three  samples  examined  : seventeen  were 
arrowroot,  one  was  arrowroot  and  tapioca,  two  ar- 
rowroot, tapioca,  and  potato,  and  three  tapioca  and 
potato.  Harmless.  (E.  G.  Love,  Ph.  D.) 

Bakers’  chemicals. — (Saleratus.)  This  was 

originally  bicarbonate  of  potash,  but  the  name  is 
now  applied  to  the  bicarbonate  of  soda.  Twenty 
samples:  none  adulterated. — (Baking-soda.)  Twen- 
ty-three samples:  twenty  samples  unadulterated.  One 
contained  25  per  cent  of  gypsum ; one  same  quan- 
tity of  gypsum  and  a little  starch  ; one  a large  amount 
of  sulphate  of  soda  and  17  per  cent  of  carbonate  of 
lime. — (Cream  of  tartar.)  This  is  the  bitartrate  of 
potash.  Twenty-seven  samples  : sixteen  adulterated 
and  in  some  not  a particle  of  cream  of  tartar  found. 
Six  adulterated  with  terra  alba  (gypsum)  and  starch, 
one  with  starch  alone,  two  with  starch,  terra  alba, 
and  acid  phosphate  of  lime.  Six  had  tartaric  acid 
and  no  cream  of  tartar.  In  eight  the  amount  of 
terra  alba  was  found  to  vary  from  3.27  to  93  per  cent. 


FOOD. 


7S 

Five  samples  contained  over  70  per  cent  of  this  inju- 
rious adulteration.  (Love.) 

. Baking  - powders.  — Contain  bicarbonate  of 
soda  and  some  acid  or  acid  salt,'  which  combine 
when  water  is  added  and  evolve  carbonic-acid  gas. 
There  are  four  classes  in  use.  One  contains  cream 
of  tartar,  one  tartaric  acid,  one  the  acid  phosphate 
of  lime,  and  one  potash  or  ammonia  alum.  Many 
powders  contain  a salt  of  ammonia.  The  pungent 
odor  of  this  substance  prevents  its  use  in  any  but 
the  smallest  quantities,  and  it  can  not  affect  the 
wholesomeness  of  the  powder.  Flour  or  starch  forms 
an^ingredient  of  many  powders  to  prevent  a prema- 
ture combination  of  its  constituents  and  a consequent 
deterioration  of  the  powder.  Eighty-four  samples  : 
seventy-three  had  flour  or  starch ; thirty-five  con- 
tained ammonia.  Eight  adulterated  with  terra  alba, 
phosphate  of  lime,  or  tartrate  of  lime.  As  a rule, 
these  powders  are  harmless.  (Love.) 

(Alum.)  There  does  not  seem  sufficient  evidence 
as  to  the  injurious  effects  of  alum  upon  the  human 
system  to  warrant  legislation  against  it.  (Love.) 

Beer  . — Most  adulterations  are  harmless.  Corn, 
rice,  wheat,  glucose,  starch,  pt)tatoes,  etc.,  are  used 
in  making  beer,  and  in  many  countries  are  allowed 
by  special  laws  (as  in  England  and  Germany).  The 
use  of  substitutes  for  hops  within  the  last  few  years 
is  hardly  possible  to  believe,  since  hops  have  been 
so  cheap,  in  fact,  almost  the  cheapest  bitter,  and 
are,  moreover,  as  every’brewer  knows,  the  best  ma- 


7 6 SANITAR  Y INFORM  A TION. 

terial  to  preserve  his  beer.  (F.  E.  Engelhardt, 
Ph.  D.) 

Brandy. — Cognac  brandy  is  naturally  colorless, 
but  public  taste  demands  a brown  color,  which  is 
imparted  by  a mixture  of  caramel  (burned  sugar).  A 
very  large  proportion  of  the  brandy  in  the  world  is 
made  of  corn-spirit  colored  with  burned  sugar  and 
flavored  with  oil  of  cognac  (an  essential  oil  derived 
from  the  lees  of  wine  ; twenty-five  hundred  pounds  of 
lees  make  one  pound  of  oil.)  Here  is  one  recipe  : 
To  every  ten  gallons  of  pure  spirits  add  two  quarts 
New  England  rum  or  one  quart  Jamaica  rum,  and 
from  thirty  to  forty  drops  of  oil  of  cognac  cut  in 
one  half  pint  of  alcohol ; color  with  burned  sugar.’’ 
Twenty-five  samples  examined  : sixteen  contained 
^ fusel-oil,  six  had  traces  of  it,  and  three  none.  (En- 
gelhardt). The  only  injurious  ingredient  (besides 
alcohol)  in  the  artificial  brandies  seems  to  be  the 
fusel-oil  contained  in  the  corn-spirit  or  whisky  used 
as  a base.  Rub  suspected  brandy  on  the  palm  of 
the  hand  until  it  has  evaporated.  Fusel-oil  may 
then  still  be  detected  by  the  smell.  Good  brandy 
will  leave  no  odor. 

Bread. — Ten  samples  : no  adulteration.  (Love.) 
In  1873,  Elwyn  Waller,  for  the  New  York  City  Board 
of  Health,  examined  fifty-one  samples,  of  which 
forty-one  were  Tinadulterated,  and  ten  contained 
traces  of  copper  or  alum. 

Butter. — May  be  mixed  with*  oleomargarine,  and 
the  adulteration  is  hard  to  detect.  Oleomargarine 


FOOD. 


77 


is  more  crumbly  than  butter  in  cold  weather.  Often 
colored  with  annotto,  and,  as  this  sometimes  contains 
a little  sulphate  of  copper,  a trace  of  copper  may 
occasionally  be  found  in  butter.  As  a rule,  adultera- 
tions of  butter  are  harmless. 

Candy. — Taffy  and  gum-drops  are  almost  all 
glucose.  Coloring-matters  usually  harmless,  but  of 
ten  samples  of  yellow  candy,  seven  contained  chro- 
mate of  lead.  (W.  H.  Pitt,  M.  D.)  Candy  often 
contains  terra  alba,  flour,  and  gum-arabic.  The  only 
injurious  ingredients  usually  found  are  terra  alba 
(recognized  by  its  grittiness  and.  insolubility)  and 
the  chromate  of  lead.  On  account  of  the  latter  it  is 
best  to  avoid  yellow,  green,  and  orange  candies. 

Canned  fruits  and  vegetables.  — Eighteen 
samples,  including  peaches,  plums,  grapes,  strawber- 
ries, cherries,  blackberries,  olives,  mushrooms,  corn, 
beans,  succotash,  tomatoes,  pumpkin,  and  peas.  No 
adulteration  found.  Attention  was  given  to  the 
possibility  of  the  chemical  reaction  of  the  fruit  acids 
upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  cans,  whereby  salts  of 
tin  and  lead  might  be  produced,  rendering  the  con- 
tents in  some  degree  poisonous.  There  was  no  evi- 
dence of  their  presence.  Some  of  the  articles  were 
canned  over  a year  before.  (S.  A.  Lattimore,  Ph.  D.) 
Per  contra,  other  analysts  have  found  from  .1  to 
2.3  grains  of  tin  to  the  can.  There  is,no  evidence, 
however,  that  this  amount  of  tin  in  solution  is  in- 
jurious, and  the  recent  investigations  of  Hall  seem 
to  show  that  the  fruit  acids  do  not  act  appreciably 


78 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


on  the  tin  or  the  lead  of  the  solder,  so  long  as  the 
air  is  excluded.  Cans  once  opened  should  therefore 
be  emptied,  and  not  left  partly  full. 

Canned  meats. — No  adulterations  and  no  tin 
or  lead  found.  The  heads  of  all  cans  should  be 
slightly  concave.  This  shows  that  the  contents  were 
hot  when  the  can  was  sealed.  If  the  heads  are  con- 
vex, the  contents  are  decomposing. 

Cereals. — Ninety-four  samples,  including  wheat 
and  Graham  flour,  farina,  oatmeal,  rye,  barley,  corn- 
meal,  rice,  buckwheat,  sago,  and  tapioca.  Two 
adulterated.  Adulterations  consisted  in  mixture  of 
other  cereals,  and  were  harmless.  (Love.) 

Cheese. — Skim-milk  cheese  often  contains  lard, 
put  in  to  replace  the  butter  which  has  been  removed. 
This  adulteration  improves  the  quality  of  the  cheese 
and  often  can  not  be  detected  by  experts.  One 
sample  of  cheese,  which  had  caused  sickness  in  those 
who  ate  it,  was  examined,  and,  although  it  also  made 
the  analyst  ill,  no  known  poisonous  substance  could 
be  detected  in  it.  (G.  C.  Caldwell,  Ph.  D.)  All  yel- 
low cheese  is  colored  with  annotto,  which  can  there- 
fore hardly  be  considered  an  adulteration.  The  rind 
is  sometimes  washed  with  a mercurial  or  arsenical  so- 
lution, to  protect  it  from  insects,  and  should  therefore 
never  be  eaten. 

Cocoa  and  chocolate. — Six  samples.  None 
adulterated.  (Lattimore.) 

Coffee. — Thirty-five  samples  of  unroasted,  three 
of  roasted  unground,  twenty-one  of  ground,  three  of 


FOOD. 


79 


coffee  extract.  Of  the  thirty-five  unroasted^  in  five 
a few  grains  were  found  which  had  been  slightly 
colored  or  faced,  apparently  with  Prussian  blue  ; the 
three  roasted  unground  were  pure  ; of  the  twenty-one 
ground,  nineteen  contained  chiccory,  beans,  wheat, 
rye,  etc.  One  sample  consisted  entirely  of  roasted 
hominy.  Three  samples  of  coffee  extract  consisted 
chiefly  of  caramel  and  licorice,  and  contained  no 
coffee.  (Lattimore.)  Pure  coffee  swims  in  water,  and 
colors  it  slowly.  Chiccory  sinks  and  colors  water 
rapidly.  Peas  sink  and  color  water  slowly.  Rye 
sinks  more  rapidly  than  coffee,  and  colors  water 
more  quickly.  Ground  coffee  is  hard  and  crumbles 
between  the  teeth ; chiccory  is  soft  and  does  not 
crumble. 

Gin.  — No  injurious  adulterations  detected. 
Twenty-five  samples.  (Engelhardt.) 

Honey. — Three  samples  : two  pure.  One,  la- 
beled white-clover  honey,*'  contained  50  per  cent 
of  artificial  glucose.  The  presence  of  added  glucose 
is  indicated  by  the  turbidity  produced  by  oxalic  acid 
in  a solution  of  the  honey  in  distilled  water.  This 
turbidity  is  due  to  the  presence  of  gypsum  in  artifi- 
cial glucose — a substance  which  is  not  contained  in 
pure  honey.  (Pitt.) 

Horse-radish.  — Often  harmlessly  adulterated 
with  grated  turnip. 

Isinglass. — Two  samples."  Both  were  common 
gelatine.  (Chester.) 

Jellies  . — Fruit-jellies  are  often  simple  apple-jel- 


8o 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION, 


ly,  flavored  with  artificial  essences  and  colored  with 
aniline.  Safest  not  to  use  them  unless  their  source 
is  known  to  be  trustworthy. 

Lard. — Twenty-eight  samples.  Fifteen  pure  ; 
the  rest  contained  water.  Good  lard  should  melt  to 
a clear  fat  without  sputtering. 

Meat. — Sound  fresh  meat  is  pale  red  when  first 
cut,  the  surface  after  exposure  turning  to  a deep  red. 
The  meat  of  animals  that  have  died  a natural  death 
is  of  a deep  purple  color,  not  having  been  bled.  The 
greatest  danger  in  meat,  however,  is  that  due  to  the 
presence  of  trichinae,  which  are  killed  by  a tempera- 
ture of  i6o®  Fahr.  All  forms  of  pork  should  there- 
fore be  cooked  thoroughly  before  eating.  (Ches- 
ter.) Poisoning  (vomiting,  cramps,  and  diarrhoea) 
produced  by  meat  is  generally  caused  by  some  kind 
of  preserved  meat  (sausages,  pickled  meats,  etc.), 
and  is  probably  due  to  the  presence  of  fungi. 

Milk. — Frauds  consist  generally  in  adding  water 
or  removing  fat  (skimming).  As  the  milk  of  healthy 
cows  varies  in  composition  within  certain  limits,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  a standard  of  purity,  which  has 
been  fixed  upon  in  New  York  as  follows  : Nearly 
1,000  cows  have  been  examined,  with  reference  to 
the  specific  gravity  of  their  milk,  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Connecticut.  The  maximum  specific 
gravity  was  1.039  Alderney  cow.  The 

minimum  for  normal  milk  from  a healthy  cow  was 
1.029.  specific  gravity  is  determined  by  an  in- 

strument called  a lactometer,  on  which  o stands  for 


FOOD. 


8l 


1,000,  the  specific  gravity  of  water,  and  loo  for  1,029, 
that  of  the  poorest  milk  from  a healthy  cow.  The 
composition  of  such  milk,  adopted  by  the  English 
Society  of  Public  Analysts  and  the  New  York  City 
Board  of  Health,  as  a result  of  fifty  analyses,  is  as 
follows  : 


Fat 2.5 

Solids,  not  fat  (sugar,  salt,  etc.) , g. 

Water 88.5 


loo.o 

Method  of  using  the  Lactometer. — Put  the 

milk  in  a vessel  so  deep  that  the  lactometer,  when 
introduced  and  allowed  to  float,  shall  not  touch  the 
bottom.  Notice  the  reading  of  the  scale  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  milk.  If  it  is  less  than  100,  it  gives  the 
percentage  of  milk  in  the  sample.  For  example,  if 
the  reading  be  80,  the  sample  contains  80  per  cent 
of  milk  and  20  per  cent  of  water. 

Sources  of  Error. — Milk  very  rich  in  cream 
may  possibly,  though  not  probably,  register  less  than 
100,  but  its  very  appearance  will  show  that  it  has  not 
been  thinned  by  water  or  by  skimming. 

Skimmed  milk,  especially  if  a little  salt  has  been 
added,  may  register  high  above  100,  but  its  thinness 
and  blueness  will  show  that  it  has  been  doctored. 

• Condensed  milk  was  carefully  analyzed,  and 
found  to  be  unobjectionable.  (C.  E.  Munsell,  Ph.  D.) 

Olive-Oil. — Often  adulterated  with  poppy,  cot- 
ton-seed, ground  or  peanut,  sesame,  rape-seed,  colza 


82 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


or  beechnut  oil,  all  harmless.  Sixteen  samples  ; nine 
adulterated.  (Caldwell.) 

Pickles. — Nine  samples.  None  contained  cop- 
per or  any  other  metal.  The  only  sample  that  pos- 
sessed a suspiciously  green  appearance  was  found  to 
contain  alum.  (Lattimore.) 

Rum. — Twenty-five  samples.  No  objectionable 
additions  found.  (Engelhardt.) 

Sirups. — Three  samples  of  maple-sirup.  Two 
were  pure,  and  one,  manufactured  in  Chicago  and 
sold  in  cans,  contained  35  per  cent  of  artificial  glu- 
cose. In  1870  Dr.  Chandler  found  .02  per  cent  of 
ti  each  of  two  samples  of  sugar-house  sirups. 
Tnis  represents  .8  grain  of  tin  to  the  gallon.  A 
common  adulterant  of  sirups  is  glucose,  which  di- 
minishes their  sweetening  power,  but  is  not  consid- 
ered injurious. 

Spices. — One  hundred  and  eighty  samples,  com- 
prising mustard,  ginger,  allspice,  cinnamon,  cassia, 
cloyes,  white,  black,  and  red  pepper,  mace,  and  nut- 
meg. One  hundred  and  twelve  were  adulterated 
from  40  to  81.8  per  cent.  All  the  adulterations 
were  harmless  (wheat  and  buckwheat  bran,  hulls 
of  different  seeds,  middlings  of  corn-meal,  stale 
ship's  bread,  peas,  beans,  etc.).  No  poisonous  sub- 
stance was  found.  (Lattimore.) 

Sugar. — One  hundred  and  sixteen  samples,  prin- 
cipally collected  in  New  York  city.  Care  was  taken 
to  secure  the  samples  from  different  sections  of  the 
city  and  from  all  classes  of  stores.  Of  these,  thirty- 


FOOD. 


83 


four  were  microscopically  clean,  fifty-four  slightly 
contaminated  with  dust,  twenty-two  contained  con- 
siderable dirt,  and  six  were  very  dirty.  But  in  no 
case  was  there  an  intentional  addition  of  insoluble 
mineral  matters.  Of  forty-nine  white  sugars,  all  were 
pure ; of  sixty-seven  brown  sugars,  four  were  adul- 
terated with  glucose.  (A.  L.  Colby,  Ph.  B.) 

There  have  been  many  exaggerated  statements 
put  forth  regarding  the  adulteration  of  sugar.  In 
1870  Dr.  Chandler  reported  to  the  New  York  City 
Board  of  Health  that  sixty  samples  of  sugar  bought 
at  small  groceries  were  found  pure^^ffrorS^lter- 
ated  without  exception.  In  1872,  EdWyn  Wallemor 
the  same  board,  examined  one^^dre<^  and  ni^e 
samples  of  powdered  sugar,  but^ffbund  ijo  adultera- 


tion. 


U- 


Powdered  sugar  is  quite  geneiSjl]^pelieved  to  {>e 
adulterated  with  gypsum  or  floi||.OAs  both  of  thesjb 
adulterants  are  insoluble  in  watcV/jit  is  e^y  for  any 
one  to  convince  himself  of  the  pv^^ty  of  ^u^r  bifedife- 
solving  it  in  water. 

Teas. — Forty- three  samples  01  and 

eighteen  of  black.  Many  were  cheap  and  of  very 
inferior  quality,  some  mere  tea  rubbish,,  yet  no  leaf, 
or  fragment  of  a leaf,  which  was  examined,  could  be 
considered  anything  but  tea.  No  adulterations  were 
found,  and  even  the  admixture  of  exhausted  leaves 
could  not  be  positively  asserted.  (Lattimore.)  Sus- 
pected leaves  should  be  wet  and  spread  out,  and 
then  compared  with  leaves  known  to  be  genuine.  It 


84 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


is  said  that  exhausted  leaves  of  green  tea  are  often 
colored  or  faced''  with  plumbago,  Prussian  blue, 
soap-stone,  etc.,  so  artfully- that  only  an  expert  can 
detect  the  fraud.  Black  tea  is  generally  pure. 

Vinegar. — Four  samples,  all  poor,  but  not  adul- 
terated, unless  with  water.  (Lattimore.) 

Whisky. — Twenty-five  samples.  Fusel-oil  de- 
cided in  twenty,  and  traces  in  the  rest.  No  injuri- 
ous adulteration  found.  “ It  is  evident  that  the  ad- 
dition of  water  and  coloring-matter  is  practiced  more 
than  any  other  adulteration."  (Engelhardt.) 

Wine. — ‘‘A  good  wine  should  be  transparent, 
and*  should  have  a bouquet.  When  pouring  it  into  a 
glass,  it  should  sparkle.  A sour  taste  is  always  a sign 
of  poor  wine.  Dizziness  and  headache  are  not  pro- 
duced by  drinking  pure  wine.  Cloudy,  discolored, 
highly  colored  wines  are  suspicious."  There  are 
various  substances  used  in  the  manufacture  of  wine 
which  should  be  classed  as  adulterations,  e.  g.,  cal- 
cined plaster  is  added  to  the  grape- juice  during  fer- 
mentation (so-called  plastering);  in  this  way  is  formed 
an  insoluble  tartrate  of  lime,  and  a soluble  sulphate 
of  potash,  the  latter  having  a bitter  taste  and  acting 
as  a purgative  even  in  small  doses.  The  French 
Government  forbids  the  sale  of  wine  containing  over 
0.2  per  cent  of  sulphate  of  potash.  This  process 
also  leads  to  the  formation  of  acid  sulphates  and  free 
sulphuric  acid  in  wines.  Plastering  of  wines  is  prac- 
ticed in  Spain,  Portugal,  and  the  south  of  France. 

Wines  are  often  fortified  by  the  addition  of 


FOOD. 


83 


brandy,  cologne  spirit,  or  French  spirit,  to  arrest  fer- 
mentation. Ports  and  sherries  are  almost  invaria- 
bly so. 

• Red  wines  are  often  colored  with  logwood.  Bra- 
zil-wood, fuchsine,  cochineal,  black  hollyhock  and 
red  poppy  flowers,  alkana-root,  red  beets,  cherries, 
whortleberries,  elderberries,  pokeberries,  etc.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  detect  these,  and  fuchsin  is  the  only 
one  that  is  poisonous.  Carpene  gives  the  following 
very  simple  method  to  decide  whether  a red  wine  is 
naturally  or  artificially  colored  : Take  a piece  of 
good,  white  burned  lime,  break  it  into  two  pieces, 
smooth  the  surfaces  by  a knife  or  file,  and  place  a 
few  drops  in  succession  on  the  same  spot  of  the 
smooth  surface,  and  observe  after  a few  minutes  the 
color  produced.  Natural  red  wines  give  a yellowish- 
brown  spot ; colored  with  fuchsine,  or  Brazil-wood, 
a rose-colored  spot ; colored  with  logwood,  a dark- 
violet  spot ; colored  with  cochineal,  a reddish-violet 
spot ; colored  with  black  hollyhock,  a yellowish- 
brown  spot ; colored  with  pokeberries,  a yellowish 
somewhat  red  spot.  (Engelhardt.) 

Another  test  is  to  concentrate  the  wine,  and  dip 
in  a piece  of  pure  white  woolen-yarn.  The  natural 
red  coloring-matter  of  wine  does  not  dye  without  a 
mordant,  while  fuchsine  and  cochineal  dye  it  red  or 
pink. 


8 


86 


SANITAR  Y INFORMA  TION 


CHAPTER  y. 

WATER, 

In  cities  and  towns  which  have  a common  water- 
supply,  the  water  sometimes  contains  impurities  dis- 
solved from  the  pipes  through  which  it  runs,  or  dirt 
and  vegetable  debris  stirred  up  from  the  bottom  of 
the  sources  of  supply,  or  brought  down  into  them  by 
heavy  storms  or  melting  snows. 

Service-pipes  are  usually  made  of  lead,  and,  after 
moderate  use,  become  coated  on  their  internal  sur- 
face with  insoluble  compounds  (sulphate  of  lead), 
which  prevent  contamination  of  the  water  by  them. 
When  the  water  is  not  very  hard,  however,  a slight 
amount  of  lead  may  be  dissolved  by  it.  It  is  said 
that  Cochituate  water  (Boston)  always  contains  traces 
of  lead,  but  that  no  well-authenticated  case  of  poi- 
soning from  this  source  has  ever  been  reported. 
Croton  water  (New  York),  which  has  stood  over- 
night in  the  pipes,  is  said  to  contain  one  tenth  of  a 
grain  of  lead  per  gallon — sufficient  to  produce  poi- 
soning in  some  instances.  One  case  of  this  sort  has 
been  known.  If  drinking-water  is  drawn  from  tanks, 
they  should  never  be  lined  with  lead,  but  should  be 
made  of  iron,  or  of  wood  lined  with  tinned  and  plan- 
ished copper.  (See  Plumbing  Regulations,’^  44.) 

Water  passing  through  galvanized-iron  pipes  al- 
ways contains  zinc  salts — not,  however,  in  injurious 
amount.  Such  pipes  soon  rust. 


WA  TER. 


87 


Dirt  and  other  suspended  matters  should  be  re- 
moved by  means  of  a filter.  A good  household 
filter  must  be  made  of  a material  which  can  not 
communicate  any  injurious  or  offensive  quality  to 
the  water  that  passes  through  it ; it  must  remove  all 
suspended  particles,  so  as  to  render  the  water  bright 
and  clear  ; it  must  be  easy  to  clean,  or  so  arranged 
that  the  filtering  material  can  be  readily  renewed. 
The  action  of  a filter  is  either  mechanical  or  chem- 
ical ; in  the  latter  case,  the  organic  matters  contained 
in  the  water  are  oxidized  in  the  filter.  There  are 
innumerable  patent  filters  in  the  market,  to  be  at- 
tached to  the  faucet,  but  these  can  only  act  as  strain- 
ers. There  is  no  material  known  which  can  be  in- 
troduced into  the  small  space  of  a tap-filter  and  ac- 
complish any  real  purification  of  the  water  which 
passes  through  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  flow.  (Nich- 
ols.) The  only  points  to  be  looked  to,  therefore,  in 
purchasing  a tap-filter,  are  its  efficiency  as  a strainer, 
and  the  facility  of  cleansing  or  renewing  the  filtering 
material.  Where  the  pressure  is  not  too  great,  a 
closely  woven  cotton-flannel  bag,  fastened  to  the  tap, 
makes  as  good  a filter  as  any.  For  large  filters  (in 
cisterns,  etc.),  those  which  contain  animal  charcoal 
are  the  most  efficient. 

In  places  where  the  drinking-water  is  drawn  from 
wells,  it  is  sometimes  polluted  by  leakage  from  cess- 
pools, privy-vaults,  stables,  and  refuse  matters  lying 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  their  vicinity.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  beyond  a doubt  that  epi- 


88 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


demies  of  typhoid  fever  have  often  originated  and 
spread  in  this  way.  Even  when  no  specific  disease 
is  caused,  water  polluted  from  such  sources  often 
causes  diarrhoeal  disorders  and  various  forms  of  in- 
digestion in  those  who  drink  it. 

The  determination  of  such  pollution  is  a matter 
of  great  delicacy  and  difficulty,  and  can  only  be 
trusted  to  an  expert.  Waters  polluted  by  organic 
matters  often  contain  an  excess  of  gaseous  constitu- 
ents, and  are  clear,  sparkling,  and  palatable,  present- 
ing to  the  uninstructed  eye  no  indication  of  impurity. 
There  are  certain  tests,  however,  which  can  be  used 
by  any  person  of  intelligence,  when,  if  positive  re- 
sults are  obtained,  an  expert  should  be  called  in  to 
determine  the  source  and  character  of  the  contami- 
nation. 

The  pollution  of  water  by  decomposing  animal 
matters  is  always  to  be  suspected,  if  there  are  evi- 
dences of  the  presence  of  chlorine  or  nitrogen  in  the 
water,  as  these  are  invariable  constituents  of  animal 
excreta.  These  substances  are  found  in  combina- 
tion— the  former  in  chloride  of  sodium,  and  the  lat- 
ter in  the  so-called  nitrites  and  nitrates.*  Their 
presence  is  determined  as  follows  : 

Chlorine. — Tests:  Nitrate  of  silver  (twenty-five 
cents  a drachm),  twenty-four  grains  to  one  ounce  of 
distilled  water,  and  dilute  nitric  acid  (ten  cents  an 
ounce).  Pour  a few  drops  of  each  into  the  suspected 

* The  albuminoid  ammonia  test  is  too  technical  for  inser- 
tion here. 


WA  TER. 


89 


water.  If  chlorine  is  present,  there  will  be  a cloudy- 
white  precipitate  of  chloride  of  silver,  which  will 
gradually  turn  darker.  One  grain  of  chlorine  to  a 
gallon  of  water  gives  a haze  ; four  grains  a marked 
turbidity,  and  ten  grains  a considerable  precipitate. 
In  case  chlorine  is  found,  and  any  particular  source 
is  suspected,  a pailful  of  salt  (chloride  of  sodium) 
and  water  may  be  thrown  into  the  place  from  which 
the  leakage  is  supposed  to  come,  and  the  water  again 
examined,  after  a few  hours,  to  see  whether  the 
amount  of  chlorine  has  increased. 

Nitrates. — Tests : Pure  sulphuric  acid  and  a 
saturated  solution  of  sulphate  of  iron  (copperas). 
Add  an  equal  bulk  of  the  acid  to  any  quantity  of 
the  water  in  a test-tube.  The  mixture  will  become 
very  hot.  Wait  until  it  is  cool,  and  then  pour  in  the 
iron  solution  gently,  so  that  it  will  float  above  the 
mixed  acid  and  water.  If  nitrates  are  present,  there 
will  be  an  olive-colored  layer  where  the  fluids  meet. 

Nitrites.  — Test-mixture : Iodide  of  potassium 
(fifty  cents  per  ounce),  one  part ; starch,  twenty 
parts  ; water,  five  hundred  parts.  Make  the  starch- 
solution  first,  and  filter  when  cold  ; then  add  the 
iodide  of  potash.  Add  to  the  suspected  water  this 
mixture,  and  then  a little  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  If 
nitrites  are  present,  there  will  be  an  immediate  blue 
color. 

Organic  Matters  in  general. — Test:  Eight 
grains  of  chemically  pure  permanganate  of  potash 
in  one  ounce  of  distilled  water.  In  half  a pint  of 


90 


SANITAJ^  Y INFORMA  TION, 


the  suspected  water  in  a tumbler,  put  one  drop  of 
the  solution.  If  the  red  color  disappears  in  one  half 
hour,  add  more.  For  every  drop  that  loses  color  in 
the  half-pint  there  will  be  found  one  and  a half  to 
two  grains  of  putrid  organic  matter  in  a gallon  of  the 
water.  If  the  action  is  rapid,  the  matter  is  probably 
animal ; if  slow,  vegetable. 

To  purify  such  water,  if  it  must  be  used,  drop  in 
the  solution  until  a slight  red  tinge  remains.  The 
organic  matter  is  then  all  oxidized  and  rendered 
harmless.  It  is  better,  however  to  boil  such  water 
before  using  it  for  drinking. 

Precautions  with  regard  to  Drinking-  Water, 

Do  not  drink  water  that  has  been  standing  long 
in  lead  pipes,  or  lead  cisterns  or  tanks. 

Filter  it  before  drinking. 

See  that  the  current  of  ground-water  in  the  well 
from  which  you  get  your  drinking-water  is  from  the 
well  toward  any  possible  source  of  contamination 
(privy-vault,  cesspool,  etc.),  and  not  vice  versa. 

If  the  use  of  a suspected  water  is  unavoidable, 
boil  it  first.  It  can  be  rendered  palatable  by  an  in- 
fusion of  tea  or  coffee. 


APPENDIX  A. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  THE  COMMON  DISINFECT- 
ANTS, WITH  A BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  OF  EACH, 
AND  THE  AVERAGE  PRICE  AT  RETAIL. 

Carbolic  Acid. — A product  of  the  distillation  of 
coal-tar.  When  pure  and  free  from  water,  a trans- 
parent crystalline  solid.  Dissolves  in  twenty  parts  of 
cold  water.  Coagulates  albuminous  matters.  A one- 
per-cent  solution  of  it  in  water  arrests  putrefaction. 
For  disinfection  use  at  least  a one-per-cent  solution. 
The  chief  objection  to  its  use  is  its  odor.  This  may 
be  modified  to  some  extent  by  mixing  the  pure  acid 
with  camphor,  forming  a liquid,  which  may  then  be 
diluted.  This  acid  is  often  used  in  combination 
with  other  disinfectants.  A preparation  much  used 
by  the  New  York  City  Board  of  Health  for  the  dis- 
infection of  clothing  contains  eight  ounces  of  sul- 
phate of  zinc  and  three  ounces  of  carbolic  acid  to 
three  gallons  of  water.  Another  for  privie^  water- 
closets,  etc.,  is  composed  of  ten  pounds  of  copperas, 
one  pint  of  carbolic  acid,  and  five  gallons  of  water. 


92 


SANITARY  INFORMATION. 


The  strong  acid  injures  iron  pipe.  Do  not  use  in 
combination  with  the  permanganate  of  potash  or  the 
chloride  of  zinc.  ‘‘  Dead  Oil  **  (heavy  oil  of  coal- 
tar)  contains  from  5 to  15  per  cent  of  carbolic  acid 
mingled  with  impurities.  It  is  used  for  the  disinfec- 
tion of  drains,  streets,  stables,  etc.  Thymol  also 
occurs  in  coal-tar,  but  is  usually  obtained  from  oil  of 
thyme.  Its  action  is  similar  to  that  of  carbolic  acid. 
Carbolic  Powders  are  made  by  mixing  five  parts 
of  the  pure  acid,  or  ten  parts  of  the  crude,  with  one 
hundred  parts  of  sawdust,  clay,  or  lime.  Squibb’s 
Carbolic  Acid  (No.  i),  containing  77.90  per  cent  of 
pure  acid,  costs  $i  a pint ; (No.  2),  with  37.46  per 
cent  of  pure  acid,  75  cents  a pint.  Different  sam- 
ples examined  (Waller),  containing  from  .20  to  .78 
per  cent,  cost  from  50  cents  to  $i  a pint.  Crude 
acid,  containing  50  per  cent  of  acid,  with  many  tarry 
impurities,  costs  less  than  $i  a gallon.  Thymol,  $i 
per  ounce. 

Charcoal. — Absorbs  putrid  gases.  See  Lime. 
Chloride  of  Lime.  See  Chlorine. 

Chloride  of  Zinc.  See  Zinc. 

Chlorine, — A pale,  yellowish-green  gas,  of  a suf- 
focating quality,  possessing  great  bleaching  and  dis- 
infecting powers.  When  dry,  it  does  not  bleach. 
When  moist,  it  combines  with  the  hydrogen  of  water 
or  of  organic  substances,  and  sets  free  the  oxygen, 
which  constitutes  its  disinfecting  power.  It  decom- 
poses sulphureted  hydrogen,  ammonia,  and  in  general 
compounds  arising  from  the  putrid  fermentation  of 


APPENDIX  A, 


93 


organic  matter.  It  is  obtained  as  follows  : Pour  one 
pound  of  sulphuric  acid,  previously  diluted  with  four 
times  its  volume  of  water,  on  three  pounds  of  chlo- 
ride of  lime.  Mix  in  a large  earthen  dish  to  allow 
for  frothing  up.  Or  mix  two  parts,  by  weight,  of  the 
black  oxide  (dioxide)  of  manganese  with  three  parts, 
by  weight,  of  strong  hydrochloric  acid.  The  gas  is 
evolved  very  rapidly,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  make 
the  mixture  complete  before  the  fumes  drive  away 
the  person  manipulating  it.  The  colors  of  hangings, 
etc.,  are  apt  to  be  bleached  out  by  it,  and  metals  are 
corroded.  (See  also  Sulphurous  Acid.)  Chlo- 
ride of  Lime. — Made  by  saturating  slaked  lime  with 
chlorine-gas.  It  contains  on  an  average  about  30 
per  cent  of  available  chlorine,  to  be  set  free  by  an 
acid.  Very  useful  for  disinfection  of  cellars,  damp 
yards,  and  areas.  One  half  pound  in  a gallon  of 
water  may  be  used  for  washing  floors  of  sick-rooms, 
etc.  Heat  destroys  its  disinfecting  properties. 
Chloride  of  Aluminum.— Action  similar  to  but 
weaker  than  the  iron  and  zinc  salts,  q.  v.  Sulphuric 
acid,  black  oxide  of  manganese,  and  hydrochloric 
acid,  each  5 cents  an  ounce.  Chloride  of  lime,  15 
cents  a pound. 

Copperas.  (Green  vitriol,  sulphate  of  iron.) — 
Comes  in  pale-green  crystals.  It  is  an  efficient 
disinfectant  for  privies,  water-closets,  stables,  etc. 
Stains  white  goods.  Acts  by  destroying  sulphuret- 
ed  hydrogen  and  ammonia.  Also  oxidizes  organic 
compounds  and  coagulates  albuminous  matters.  A 


94 


SANITAjR  y informa  tion 


good  mixture  is  four  pounds  of  copperas  and  three 
ounces  of  carbolic  acid  to  a gallon  of  water.  Ten 
cents  a pound.  One  hundred  pounds  for  $3  or 
less. 

Corrosive  Sublimate.  (Mercuric  chloride.) — 
The  most  powerful  disinfectant  known.  Coagulates 
albuminous  substances.  A solution  of  one  part  in 
2,000  of  water  kills  microscopic  organisms.  Two 
drachms  of  this  substance  in  a gallon  of  water  (i  to 
500)  makes  a solution  sure  to  destroy  any  disease- 
germ.  It  is  a deadly  poison,  and  can  only  be  pur- 
chased under  legal  restrictions.  Fifteen  cents  an 
ounce. 

Dead  Oil.  See  Carbolic  Acid. 

Green  Vitriol.  See  Copperas.  s 
Gypsum.  See  Lime. 

Heat. — Boiling  is  a good  disinfectant.  Boil  for 
at  least  an  hour.  If  dry  air  is  used,  the  temperature 
must  be  from  250°  to  300°  for  five  or  six  hours. 
Cotton  and  silk  will  stand  a temperature  of  295°  for 
three  hours  without  harm.  Woolen  suffers  more. 
Iron,  Sulphate  of.  See  Copperas. 

Lime. — Twenty  parts  of  quicklime,  mixed  with 
two  parts  of  dry,  fresh  charcoal,  form  the  calx- 
powder,  as  sold  in  the  shops.  It  is  useful  to  absorb 
putrid  gases,  when  sprinkled  in  cellars,  etc.  Sul- 
phate of  lime,  or  gypsum  (plaster  of  Paris),  min- 
gled with  coal-tar  or  impure  carbolic  acid,  is  an  ef- 
fective deodorant  for  stables  and  manure-heaps.  It 
absorbs  and  retains  ammonia,  and  therefore  pre- 


APPENDIX  A. 


95 


serves  to  the  manure  its  most  valuable  constituent. 
Chloride  of  lime.  See  Chlorine.  Quicklime,  5 
cents  a pound.  Gypsum,  10  cents  a pound. 

Nitrate  of  Lead. — Theoretically  a good  disin- 
fectant, but  practically  of  little  use.  Five  cents  an 
ounce. 

Nitrous  Acid. — Evolved  in  the  form  of  brown- 
ish-red fumes,  when  nitric  acid  is  poured  on  copper 
turnings.  Very  dangerous  to  inhale,  and  little  used 
as  a disinfectant. 

Ozone. — Is  a form  of  oxygen,  supposed  to  be 
three  volumes  condensed  into  two.  Is  a powerful 
oxidizer.  Corrodes  cork,  paper,  and  other  organic 
substances.  Oxidizes  very  rapidly  compounds  of 
ammonia,  phosphorus,  and  sulphur,  which"  are  offen- 
sive, instantly  removing  the  odor.  Simple  vegeta- 
bles, like  mould,  are  completely  destroyed  by  it. 
Obtained  by  gradually  mixing  three  parts  of  sulphu- 
ric acid  with  two  parts  of  permanganate  of  potash. 
This  mixture  will  continue  to  give  off  ozone  for  sev- 
eral months.  Or,  put  a piece  of  phosphorus  on  a 
plate,  and  pour  in  water  sufficient  to  cover  two 
thirds  of  it.  These  methods  are  used  in  the  patented 
ozone  generators.  Phosphorus,  40  cents  an  ounce  ; 
sulphuric  acid,  5 cents  an  ounce. 

Permanganate  of  Potash.  — Dark  purple 
crystals,  almost  black.  A solution  is  of  a beautiful 
purple  color,^but  stains  brown  almost  everything  it 
touches.  Can  not  be  used  with  carbolic  acid  or  the 
coal-tar  disinfectants.  Is  a powerful  oxidizer,  and  is 


96 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


used  to  disinfect  excreta,  and  to  purify  drinking- 
water.  Fifty  cents  an  ounce. 

Sulphate  of  Iron.  See  Copperas. 

Sulphate  of  Lime.  See  Lime. 

Sulphate  of  Zinc.  See  Zinc. 

Sulphurous  Acid.  An  irrespirable  gas,  pro- 
duced by  burning  sulphur.  Powerful  disinfectant. 
Coagulates  albuminous  matters  and  probably  de- 
stroys germs.  Destroys  sulphureted  hydrogen  and 
ammonia.  Dry  articles  are  not  hurt  by  it,  but  wet 
clothes  are  bleached.  Can  not  be  used  with  chlorine, 
as  they  neutralize  each  other.  Chlorine  is  as  effect- 
ive, but  is  so  destructive  that  it  can  only  be  used  in 
empty  rooms.  It  requires  about  a tablespoonful  of 
alcohol  to  light  a pound  of  sulphur.  Sulphur  (roll- 
brimstone),  lo  cents  a pound. 

Thymol.  See  Carbolic  Acid. 

Zinc  Salts. — The  sulphate  and  the  chloride  of 
zinc  are  excellent  disinfectants.  They  are  colorless, 
and  can  therefore  be  used  on  clothing.  They  form, 
with  albuminous  matters,  extremely  insoluble  com- 
pounds, and  also  absorb  gases  from  putrefying  ma- 
terial. They  are  the  best  disinfectants  of  their  class. 
The  sulphate  is  cheaper,  but  the  chloride  more  effi- 
cient. Sulphate  of  zinc,  lo  cents  an  ounce  ; chlo- 
ride of  zinc,  20  cents  an  ounce. 

It  is  better  and  cheaper  to  buy  and  mix  one’s 
own  disinfectants.  The  many  proprietary  articles 
are  no  more  efficient,  and  are  very  expensive.  The 
composition  of  some  of  those  most  in  use  is  here 


97 


APPENDIX  A, 

given.  (Analyses  by  Waller,  of  the  New  York  City 
Health  Department.) 

The  first  column  gives  parts  in  loo,  and  the  .sec- 
ond, ounces  in  a gallon  in  the  case  of  liquids,  and 
ounces  in  a pound  in  case  of  powders. 

Bromochloralum  (Tilden  & Co.),  50  cents  a pint. 

Chloride  of  aluminum 8.152  12.71 

Water,  bromide  of  aluminum,  lime  salts,  etc. . . 91.848  143.25 

100.000  155.96 

Burnett's  Fluid  is  a solution  of  chloride  of  zinc 
(25  grains  to  the  drachm). 

Carbolate  of  lime,  in  three-quarter  pound  boxes. 


at  25  cents. 

Lime 64.245  10.28 

Magnesia 0.602  0.09 

Sand,  oxide  of  iron,  etc 0.670  o.ii 

Carbolic  acid  0.472  0.07 

Carbonic  acid  and  organic  impurities 34.021  5.45 


100.000  16.00 

Chloralum  (English  Chloralum  Co.),  50  cents  a 


pint. 

Chloride  of  aluminum 13.213  20.14 

Sulphate  of  lime o«i97  o*30 

Water,  chloride  of  calcium,  etc 86.590  131.99 


100.000  152.43 

Chloride  of  lime,  20  cents  a pound. 

Available  chlorine 31*38  5.02 

Lime  salts,  water,  etc 68.62  10.98 

100.00  16.00 

Condy's  Fluid  is  a solution  of  permanganate  of 
7 


98  SANITAI^Y  INFORMATION. 

potash  (9.26  grains  to  a fluid  ounce,  about  2^ 
drachms  to  the  pint). 

Darby's  Prophylactic  Fluid,  50  cents  a half-pint. 

Permanganate  of  potash 0.055  0.08 

Sulphate  of  potash i*750  2.50 

Chloride  of  potassium 1.270  1.8 1 

Carbonate  of  potash 6.570  9.40 

Water 90.355  129.24 

100.000  143.03 

Egyptian  Disinfectant,  25  cents  a pound. 

Clay 87.810  14.05 

Lime 0.354  0.06 

Carbolic  acid 0.320  0.05 

Other  constituents  of  dead  oil 5*685  0.91 

Organic  matter  and  water 5*831  0.93 

100.000  16.00 

V 

Excelsior  Disinfectant,  15  cents  a pound. 

Protosulphate  of  iron  (copperas) 31*464  5.03 

Chloride  of  sodium  (salt) 19.251  3.08 

Flowers  of  sulphur 7.800  1.25 

Water  of  crystallization,  cassia-oil,  etc 41*485  6.64 

100.000  16.00 

The  Germicide  is  a patented  apparatus  for  dis- 
charging chloride  of  zinc  into  the  bowl  of  the  water- 
closet,  and  impregnating  the  air  at  the  same  time 
with  the  vapor  of  thymol. 

Girondin  Disinfectant,  75  cents  a quart. 

Sulphate  of  zinc 19.692  32.64 

Sulphate  of  copper 1.202  1.99 

Sulphate  of  lime 0.480  0.79 

Water,  traces  of  calcium  chloride,  etc 78.626  130.34 

100.000  165.76 


APPENDIX  A, 


99 


Labarraque’s  Solution,  50  cents  a pint. 

Available  chlorine 1423  1.96 

Water  and  soda  salts 98.577  135.54 

loo.ocx)  137.50 

Metropolitan  Disinfectant,  30  cents  a quart. 

Protosulphate  of  iron  (copperas) ii-4i3  17.10 

Carbolic  acid  (about) 3.330  4.99 

Water,  dead  oil,  and  impurities. 85.257  127.74 

100.000  149.83 

Phenix  Disinfectant,  35  cents  a pound. 

Silicate  of  alumina  (clay) 56,876  9.10 

Sesquichloride  of  iron 1.192  0.19 

Sesquioxide  of  iron 7.102  1.14 

Lime 2.470  0.39 

Carbolic  acid 0.400  0.06 

Carbonic  acid  and  organic  impurities 31.960  5.12 

100.000  16.00 

Phenol  Sodique,  50  cents  a half  pint. 

Carbolic  acid I.i77  1.61 

Soda  salts,  water,  and  impurities 98.823  134.29 

100.000  135.90 

Platt’s  Chlorides,  50  cents  a quart. 

Solution  chloride  of  zinc  (saturated) 40  parts. 

“ “ “ lead  “ 20  “ 

“ “ “ calcium  “ 15  “ 

“ “ “ aluminum  “ 15  “ 

“ “ “ magnesium  **  5 “ 

“ “ “ potassium  “ 5 “ 

100  “ 

«...  J 


APPENDIX  B. 


List  of  the  prices  of  plumber’s  materials  and 
labor,  from  which  a rough  estimate  may  be  formed 
of  the  probable  cost  of  proposed  plumbing.  The 
prices  given  are  wholesale  ones,  and  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  every  plumber  is  also  a retail  mer- 
chant, who  obtains  his  materials  at  a discount,  and 
charges  them  to  his  customer  at  an  average  advance 
of  I o or  15  per  cent  on  the  prices  here  given. 

All  measurements  are  of  inside  diameters. 
Bands. — Ordinary  thickness,  2 by  2 inches,  75 
cents  ; 6 by  6 inches,  $1.90.  Intermediate  sizes 
at  corresponding  prices. 

Bends  and  Offsets. — Two  inches  in  diameter,  40 
cents;  extra  heavy,  50  cents.  Six  inches  in 
diameter,  $1.20  ; extra  heavy,  $1.75. 

Cisterns  and  Service-boxes  (for  water-closets), 
$10  to  $20  ; (waste-preventing),  $13  to  $26. 
Offsets.  See  Bends. 

Pipe  . — Tile  or  earthenware  (vitrified),  in  lengths  of 
2^  feet  each,  2-inch,  13  cents  a foot ; 3 -inch,  16 
cents  a foot ; 4-inch,  20  cents  a foot ; and  5 
cents  more  per  foot  for  each  additional  inch  of 
diameter. 


APPENDIX  B.  101 

Iron,  in  lengths  of  5 feet  each  : Ordinary,  about 
10  cents  a foot  for  every  inch  of  diameter.  Ex- 
tra heavy,  about  twice  as  much.  Double-hub 
pipe,  about  6 cents  a foot  more.  The  tar-coat- 
ing costs  about  3 cents  a foot  for  2 -inch  pipe,  4 
cents  for  3-inch  pipe,  etc. 

Lead,  about  9 cents  a pound.  Manufactured 
pipe  (traps,  etc.),  10  cents  a pound.  Qualities 
are  marked  according  to  thickness — i.  e.,  weight 
for  each  size,  AAA  (best),  AA,  A,  B,  C,  D,  and 
E.  f-inch  pipe,  AAA  weighs  i pound  12  ounces 
per  foot  ; B weighs  i pound  per  foot ; C weighs 
14  ounces  per  foot ; D weighs  7 ounces  per  foot, 
f-inch  pipe,  AAA  weighs  3 pounds  8 ounces  per 
foot ; A A weighs  2 pounds  12  ounces  per  foot ; 
B weighs  2 pounds  per  foot,  f-inch  pipe,  AAA 
weighs  4 pounds  14  ounces  per  foot ; B weighs  2 
pounds  3 ounces  per  foot,  i-inch  pipe,  AAA 
weighs  6 pounds  per  foot ; AA  weighs  4 pounds 
8 ounces  per  foot ; A weighs  4 pounds  per  foot ; 
B weighs  3 pounds  4 ounces  per  foot ; D weighs 
2 pounds  4 ounces  per  foot.  2-inch  pipe,  AAA 
weighs  10  pounds  ii  ounces  per  foot ; A A weighs 
8 pounds  14  ounces  per  foot  ; A weighs  7 pounds 
per  foot ; B weighs  6 pounds  per  foot  ; D weighs 
4 pounds  per  foot.  3-inch  pipe,  f thick,  weighs 
19  pounds  9 ounces  per  foot.  4-inch  pipe,  f 
thick,  weighs  25  pounds  6 ounces  per  foot,  and 
so  on. 

For  supply-pipes,  A A pipe  is  generally  used. 


102 


SANITARY  INFORMATION 


Privy-Sinks. — About  $5  for  every  foot  in  length. 

Saddle-Hubs.  — 2 by  2 inches,  30  cents;  extra 
heavy,  40  cents.  6 by  6 inches,  $1.10  ; extra 
heavy,  $1.40. 

School-Sinks.  See  Privy-Sinks. 

Traps. — Adee  traps  about  5 cents  apiece  less  than 
ordinary  S-traps,  and  Bower  traps  about  twice 
as  much. 

Earthenware,  2-inch,  each;  6-inch,  $3.25 
each. 

Iron  (S-traps),  2-inch,  80  cents ; extra  heavy, 
^1.25  ; 6-inch,  $3.75  ; extra  heavy,  $5.  Run- 
ning  traps,  with  or  without  hand-holes,  about  the 
same. 

Lead,  made  of  6-pound  lead  (lead  weighing 
6 pounds  to  the  square  foot),  i^-inch,  65  cents ; 
i^-inch,  80  cents  ; 2-inch,  $1. 10  ; 4|--inch,  $3.25, 
etc. 

Urinals. — (Earthenware),  $5  to  $6  each. 

Wash-Basins. — (Iron,  enameled  or  marbled),  $1.50 
to  $4-So- 

Water-Closets. — Demarest’s  (plunger),  $15  to  $40. 
Earthenware  hopper,  $10  to  $12.  Earthenware 
hopper,  with  trap,  waste-preventing  cistern,  chain 
and  bracket,  wood-seat,  etc.,  $30.  Hopper-valve 
closet,  with  self-raising,  round  seat,  $9. 

Pan-Closets. — $4.50  to  $22. 

A journeyman  and  -helper  are  charged  for  at  the 

rate  of  from  $5  to  $6  per  day. 


INDEX. 


Acid,  carbolic,  72,  91. 
carbonic,  7-9,  13,  15. 
carbonic,  test  for,  9. 
hydrochloric,  93. 
nitric,  88. 
nitrous,  95. 
sulphuric,  89,  93,  95. 
sulphurous,  70,  96. 
Adulterations  of  food,  73. 

Air,  contaminated  by  combus- 
tion, 9. 

contaminated  by  excreta, 
12,  21. 

contaminated  by  respira- 
tion, 8,  II. 

contaminated  by  the  sick, 
II. 

dangers  of  impure,  11--14. 
Air-bound  pipes,  57. 

Air  in  ground,  15, 

Alum,  75. 

Aluminum,  chloride  of,  93. 
Annotto,  77,  78. 

Areas,  drainage  of,  34. 
Arrowroot,  74. 

Asphalt  in  walls,  34,  66, 

Bacilli,  II,  14, 

Bacteria,  i|. 

!gad  odors,  sources  of,  52. 
Bakers*  chemicals,  74. 
Baking-powders,  75. 


Ball-cock,  48. 

Bands,  60,  100. 

Basins,  32,  102. 

Bath-tubs,  30. 

Bedclothing,  disinfection  of,  69. 
Beer,  75. 

Bends,  42,  100. 

Blow-offs,  33.^ 

Board  of  Health,  plumbing 
rules  of,  25. 

Boilers,  sediment-pipe  of,  32. 
Boiling,  disinfection  by,  94. 
Brandy,  76. 

Bread,  76. 

Brimstone,  67,  96. 
Bromo-chloralum,  97. 

Burnett’s  Fluid,  97. 

Butter,  76. 

Caldwell,  G.  C.,  Ph.  D.,  78,  82. 
Calking  of  joints,  45. 
Calx-powder,  94. 

Candy,  77. 

Canned  fruits  and  vegetables, 

77- 

Canned  meats,  78. 

Caramel,  76. 

Carbolate  of  lime,  97. 

Carbolic  acid,  72,  91, 
powders,  92. 

Carbonic  acid,  7-9,  13,  15. 
Carbureted  hydrogen,  12. 


104 


INDEX. 


Carmichael,  46. 

Carpene,  85. 

Cast-iron  pipes,  44,  loi. 
Cellars,  34,  66. 

Cemented  joints,  52. 

Cement,  tempered-up,  26,  39. 
Cereals,  78. 

Cesspools,  12,  34,  35. 

Chandler,  C.  F.,  Professor,  67, 
82,  83. 

Charcoal,  94. 

Cheese,  78. 

Check-valves,  47. 

Chester,  A.  H.,  Ph.  D.,  79,80. 
Chiccory,  79. 

Chicken-pox,  12. 

Chimneys  as  pipe-vents,  44. 
Chimneys,  smoky,  20. 
Chloralum,  97. 

Chloride  of  aluminum,  93. 
of  lime,  71,  93,  97. 
mercuric,  94. 
of  sodium,  89. 
of  zinc,  70,  96. 

Chlorine,  method  of  obtaining, 
92. 

properties  of,  96. 
test  for,  88. 

Chocolate,  78. 

Cholera,  precautions  vs.^  72. 

propagation  of,  14. 
Chromate  of  lead  in  candy,  77. 
Cisterns  for  water-closets,  32, 
47- 

City  houses,  drainage  of,  65. 
Closet,  earth,  23. 

Closets,  water,  39,  102. 
Clothing,  disinfection  of,  69. 
Cocoa,  78. 

Coffee,  78. 

extract  of,  79. 

Coffins,  air-tight,  70. 

Cognac,  76. 

Colby,  A.  L.,  Ph.  B.,  83. 


Combustion,  9. 

Condensers,  33. 

Condy’s  fluid,  97. 
Confectionery',  77. 

Connections,  pipe,  30,  52. 
Construction,  faulty,  52. 
Consumption,  precautions  vs.y 
72. 

propagation  of,  12,  72. 
Contagious  diseases,  propaga- 
tion of,  II. 

Copperas,  70,  93. 

solution  of,  67,  70. 

Copper,  sulphate  of,  77. 
Corpses,  disinfection  of,  69,  71. 
Corrosive  sublimate,  94. 
Country  houses,  drainage  of, 
50,  65. 

Cream  of  tartar,  74. 
Cushioning,  42,  44,  56. 
how  determined,  61. 

Damp  soil,  danger  of,  15. 
Dampers,  position  of,  19. 
Darby’s  Prophylactic  Fluid,  98. 
Dead  bodies,  disinfection  of, 
69,71. 

Dead  oil,  92. 

Deodorizers,  67. 

Diphtheria,  precautions  vs.^  72. 

propagation  of,  12,  72. 
Discharges,  disinfection  of,  68. 
Diseases,  contagious,  ii. 
Disinfectant,  Egyptian,  98. 
Excelsior,  98. 

Girondin,  98. 
Metropolitan,  99. 

Phenix,  99. 

Disinfectants,  91. 

how  to  use,  67. 
Disinfection,  66.‘ 

National  Board  of  Health 
rules  for,  67. 

of  bedclothing,  69. 

•"  « — ■ 


INDEX. 


105 


Disinfection  of  clothing,  69,  91. 
of  corpses,  69,  71. 
of  furniture,  69. 
of  premises,  68,  92,’ 94. 
of  privies,  71,  91. 

•of  water-closets,  71,  91. 
of  woolen  stuffs,  etc.,  69. 

Double  windows,  20. 

Drain,  fall  of,  27. 
house,  35. 
house,  trap  in,  42. 
location  of,  27.  ' 

pipes,  59. 
size  of,  27. 

Drainage,  21. 

diagram  of,  49. 
essentials  of,  24. 
examination  of,  61. 
of  city  houses,  6y. 
of  country  houses,  50,  65. 
of  farm-houses,  65. 
of  sea-side  houses,  65. 
New  York  City  Board  of 
Health,  25, 
subsoil,  50. 

Drains,  defective,  52,  59. 

Draughts,  how  produced,  17, 20. 
how  to  avoid,  20. 
when  perceived,  17. 

Drinking-water,  tanks  for,  33, 

86. 

tests  of,  89. 

Durand-Claye,  13. 

Durham  house-drainage  sys- 
tem, 44. 

Dysentery,  precautions  vs.^  72. 
propagation  of,  14. 

Earth  as  a disinfectant,  23. 
closet,  23. 

Earthenware  pipes,  26,  59,  100. 

Egyptian  Disinfectant,  98. 

Engelhardt,  F.  E.,  Ph.  D.,  76, 
79,  82,  84,  85. 


Erysipelas,  propagation  of,  14. 
Evaporation  from  traps,  60. 
Excelsior  Disinfectant,  98. 
Excreta,  contamination  of  air 
by,  14,  21. 

dangers  from,  14,  21. 
removal  of,  24. 

Exhaust-steam  in  soil-pipes,  33, 

50. 

Farm-houses,  drainage  of,  65. 
Faulty  construction  of  drains, 

52. 

Ferrules,  30,  45,  52. 

Fever,  malarial,  14. 
puerperal,  14. 
scarlet,  ii,  72. 
typhoid,  14,  72. 
typhus,  II,  73. 
yellow,  14,  72. 

Field’s  flush-tank,  50. 

Filters,  87. 

Fireplace,  Gallon’s,  18,  19. 
Fireplaces,  18. 

Flanges,  lead,  53. 

Flues  for  ventilation,  20. 
Flush-tank,  50. 

Fomites,  71,  73. 

Food,  73. 

Fresh-air  inlet,  28,  43. 

Fruits,  canned,  77. 

Fumigation,  methods  of,  68, 69. 
precautions  during,  70. 
treatment  of  rooms  after, 
70. 

Funerals,  71. 

Furniture,  disinfection  of,  69. 

of  sick-room,  68. 

Fusel-oil,  76,  84. 

Gallon’s  fireplace,  18,  19. 

Gas,  sewer,  composition  of,  12. 
Gasket,  45. 

General  debility,  ii,  13. 


io6 


INDEX, 


German  measles,  12. 
Germicide,  98. 

Gin,  79. 

Girondin  Disinfectant,  98. 
Glucose,  75,  79,  82. 

Grains,  cereal,  78. 

Green  vitriol,  70,  93. 

Ground  air,  danger  of,  15. 
air,  exclusion  of,  66. 
water,  high  and  low,  15. 
Gum-drops,  77. 

Gypsum,  74,  79,  94. 

Hand-holes,  59. 

Heat,  disinfection  by,  94. 
Honey,  79. 

Hops,  75. 

Horizontal  pipes,  28. 
Horse-radish,  79.  - 
Hospital  gangrene,  14. 
House-drain,  35. 

drain,  trap  in,  27,  42. 
drainage,  Durham  system 
44* 

drainage,  essentials  of,  24. 
sewer,  material  of,  26. 
Hydrant-sinks,  35. 
Hydrochloric  acid,  93. 

Impurity  of  air,  measure  of,  9. 
Inlet,  fresh-air,  28,  43. 

Iodide  of  potassium,  89. 

Iron,  sulphate  of,  93. 

Iron  pipes,  weight  of,  29. 
Isinglass,  79. 

Jellies,  79. 

Joints,  calking  of,  45,  52. 
cement,  52,  59. 
imperfect,  59. 
lead,  45,  52. 
putty,  52,  59. 


Joints,  rust,  30,  45. 
wiped,  46. 

Labarraque’s  Solution,  99. 

Labor,  plumber’s,  102. 

Lactometer,  method  of  using, 

81. 

Lard,  80. 

Lattimore,  S.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  77- 

79,  82-84. 

Lead,  chromate  of,  77. 

dissolving  of,  in  water,  86. 
flanges,  53. 
nitrate  of,  95. 

Leaders,  bad  odors  from,  53. 
as  soil-pipes,  33,  49. 
trapping  of,  33,  53.  - 

Lead  pipes,  weight  of,  lOl. 

Letheby,  13. 

Lime,  94. 

chloride  of,  93. 
sulphate  of,  94. 

Louvered  sky-light,  39. 

Love,  E.  G.,  Ph.  D.,  74-76,  78. 

Malarial  fevers,  14. 

Manganese,  oxide  of,  93. 

Marsh-gas,  13. 

Measles,  precautions  vs.^  72. 
propagation  of,  li. 

M^at,  80. 

Meats,  canned,  78. 

preserved,  poisoning  by, 

80. 

Mercuric  chloride,  94. 

Mercury  seal  for  traps,  39. 

Metropolitan  Disinfectant,  99. 

Microscopic  organisms,  ii,  43. 

Milk,  composition  of,  81. 

Mines,  air  of,  7. 

Morin,  estimate  by,  19. 

Movable  tanks  for  excreta,  22. 

Mumps,  12. 

Munsell,  C.  E.,  Ph.  D.,  81. 


INDEX. 


National  Board  of  Health, 
rules,  etc.,  67. 

Nichols,  Professor  W.  R.,  8, 12, 

87. 

Nitrate  of  lead,  95. 

'of  silver,  88. 

Nitrates,  tests  for,  89. 

Nitric  acid,  88. 

Nitrites,  test  for,  89. 

Nitrogen,  7. 

in  sewers,  12,  13. 

Nitrous  acid,  95. 

New  York  City  Board  of 
Health,  rules,  etc.,  25. 
New  York  State  Board  of 
Health,  rules,  etc.,  74. 

Oakum,  45. 

Odors,  offensive,  52. 

Offsets,  35,  100. 

Oil,  dead,  92. 
fusel,  76,  84. 
of  cognac,  76. 
of  peppermint,  63. 
olive,  81. 

Oleomargarine,  76. 

One  trap,  etc.,  how  determined, 
58,  62. 

Organic  matter  of  respired  air, 
9- 

matters,  test  for,  89. 
Organisms,  microscopic,  ii,  43. 
Overflow-pipes,  32,  33,  46,  54, 
58. 

Oxidation,  15,  43. 

Oxide  of  manganese,  93. 
Oxygen,  7,  8,  13. 

Ozone,  95. 

Pails  for  excreta,  22. 

Paris,  plaster-of-,  94. 
Peppermint  test,  63. 
Permanganate  of  potash,  95. 


107 

Pettenkofer's  test  for  carbonic 
acid,  9. 

Phenix  Disinfectant,  99. 

Phenol  Sodique,  99. 

Phosphorus,-  95. 

Pickles,  82. 

Pipe  connections,  30,  52. 

Pipes,  air,  31. 

air-bound,  57. 
cast-iron,  27,  28,  44,  loi. 
corrosion  of,  50,  59. 
drain,  27,  59. 
earthenware,  26,^  100. 
galvanized  iron,  59,  86. 
hub-end  of,  44. 
iron,  weight  of,  29. 
lead,  weight  of,  loi. 
obstruction  of,  61. 
overflow,  32, 33, 46,  54,  58. 
rat-holes  in,  59. 
service,  86. 
spigot-end  of,  44. 
tarring  of,  44,  loi. 
traps  on  vertical,  29,  44. 
ventilating,  size  of,  31. 
waste,  28. 
wrought-iron,  44. 

Pitt,  W.  H.,  M.  D.,  77,  79. 

Plants,  action  of  air  on,  15- 

Plaster-of-Paris,  94. 

Platt’s  chlorides,  99. 

Plumber’s  labor,  102. 
materials,  loi,  102. 

Pork,  80. 

Potash,  permanganate  of,  95. 

Potassium,  iodide  of,  89. 

Powders,  calx,  94. 
carbolic,  92. 

Premises,  disinfection  of,  68, 
92,  94. 

Privies,  disinfection  of,  71. 

Privy-sinks,  42,  102. 

Privy-vaults,  construction  of, 
22,  34,  35. 


io8 


INDEX, 


Privy-vaults,  contents  of,  12. 

dangers  of,  22. 

Pumpelly,  46. 

Purification  of  water,  87,  90. 
Putty-joints,  52,  54. 

Rat-holes  in  pipes,  59. 
Refrigerator  w’astes,  32. 
Respiration,  organic  matter  of, 
9- 

Return  bend,  43. 

Rum,  82. 

Saddle-hubs,  60,  102. 

Safes,  32,  46. 

draining  of,  32,  54. 
Safe-wastes,  32,  54. 

Saleratus,  74. 

Salt,  67,  70,  89. 

“ Sanitary  Engineer,”  51. . 
Scarlet  fever,  precautions  vs.^ 

72. 

propagation  of,  ii. 
School-sinks,  34,  42,  102. 

Seal  of  trap,  36. 

Sea-side  houses,  drainage  of,  65. 
Seine,  mud  of,  13. 
Service-pipes,  86. 

Sewer-air,  effects  attributed  to, 

13. 

Sewer-gas,  composition  of,  12. 
Sewer,  house,  material  of,  26. 
Sewer-water,  13. 

Sewers,  contents  of,  12. 
private,  26. 

Sherringham  valve,  17. 
Sick-room,  care  of,  67,  70. 

precautions  on  entering, 
73- 

Sinks,  30. 

Siphonage,  58. 

how  determined,  62. 
prevention  of,  31,  58. 


Sirups,  82. 

Sky-light,  louvered,  39. 
Sleeves,  30,  45. 

Slops,  dangers  from,  21. 
Small-pox,  precautions  vs,^  71. 

propagation  of,  ii. 

Smoky  chimneys,  20. 

Smith,  Angus,  8. 

Soil,  damp,  danger  of,  15. 
Soil-pipe,  35. 

material  and  size  of,  28. 
Spices,  82. 

Stables,  disinfection  of,  94. 
Starch,  75,  89. 

Squibb’s  carbolic  acid,  92. 
Steam  in  soil-pipes,  33,  50. 
Steam-coils,  heating  by,  19. 
Subsoil  drainage,  50. 

Sugar,  82. 

Sulphate  of  copper,  77. 
of  iron,  89,  93. 
of  lime,  94. 
of  zinc,  67,  96. 

Sulphide  of  ammonium,  12. 
Sulphur,  67,  96. 

use  of,  in  disinfection, 

68. 

Sulphureted  hydrogen,  12,  13. 
Sulphuric  acid,  89,  95. 
Sulphurous  acid,  70,  96. 

Syrups  (see  Sirups). 

Tanks  for  drinking-water,  33, 

86. 

lining  of,  33. 
movable,  for  excreta,  22. 
Tarring  of  pipes,  44,  loi. 
Teas,  83. 

Terra  alba,  74,  75,  77.^ 

Test,  Carpene’s,  lor  wine,  85. 
for  carbonic  acid,  9. 
for  chlorine,  88. 
for  nitrates,  89. 
for  nitrites,  89. 


INDEX. 


loo 


Test  for  organic  matters  in 
water,  89. 
peppermint,  63. 
water,  45. 

Thymol,  72,  92,  98. 

Tin  in  canned  fruits,  77. 

in  sirups,  82. 

Traps,  35,  102. 

cleaning  of,  60. 
efficiency  of,  46. 
empty,  how  to  determine, 
62. 

in  house-drains,  27,  42. 
on  vertical  pipes,  29,  44. 
position  of,  30. 
unsealing  of,  by  cushion- 
ing, 56. 

unsealing  of,  by  evapora- 
tion, 60. 

unsealing  of,  by  siphoning, 

5^- 

various  kinds  of,  36,  102. 
ventilation  of,  31. 
Trap-screws,  59. 

Trichinae,  80. 

Typhoid  fever  caused  by  water, 

88. 

precautions  w.,  72. 
propagation  of,  14. 

Typhus  fever,  precautions  vs.^ 
73* 

propagation  of,  ii. 

Urinals,  30,  102. 

Valve-closets,  dangers  of,  47. 
Valves,  check,  47. 

Vegetables,  canned,  77. 
Ventilating  shaft,  25. 
Ventilation,  15. 

different  methods  of,  17- 
19. 

flues  for,  20. 


Ventilation  of  pipes,  31,  54, 

. 58. 

Ventilators,  whirling,  20. 
Vent-pipes,  54. 

Vertical  pipes,  traps  on,  29, 

44- 

Vinegar,  84. 

Waller,  Elwyn,  Ph.  D.,  83,  97. 
Walls,  damp-proof  courses  in, 
66. 

Wash-trays  and  tubs,  30. 
Waste-pipes,  35. 
material  of,  28. 
trapping  of,  30. 

Water,  86. 

drinking,  tanks  for,  33,  86. 
drinking,  tests  of,  89. 
impure,  disorders  due  to, 
88. 

in  lead  pipes,  86. 
iron  pipes  for,  86. 
of  sewers,  13. 
pollution  of,  87. 
precautions  regarding,  90. 
purification  of,  90. 
typhoid  fever  caused  by, 
88. 

Water-carriage,  24. 
Water-closets,  39,  102. 

cisterns  for,  32,  47,  loo. 
disinfection  of,  71,  91. 
valve,  dangers  of,  47. 
Water-seal,  36,  46. 

Water  test,  the,  45. 

Weight  of  iron  pipe,  29. 

of  lead  pipe,  loi. 
Wernich,  46. 

Whirling  ventilators,  20. 
Whisky,  76,  84. 
Whooping-cough,  propagation 
of,  12. 

Windows,  double,  20. 


1 lO 


INDEX, 


Wine,  how  to  tell  good,  84. 

tests  of,  85. 

Wiped  joints,  46. 

Woolen  stuffs,  disinfection  of, 
69. 

Wrought-iron  pipes,  44. 


Y-branches,  42. 

Yards,  drainage  of,  34. 
Yellow  fever,  14,  72. 

Zinc,  chloride  of,  70,  96. 
sulphate  of,  67,  96. 


THE  END. 


WORKS  ON  HYGIENE. 


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